


Eternal Life of the Underworld

by Gibbous1992



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Adventure, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Egyptian Literature & Mythology, Angst, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M, Modern Era, Shadow Realm, Yami no Game | Shadow Game
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-24
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2018-08-10 16:08:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 21,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7851982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gibbous1992/pseuds/Gibbous1992
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michelle transfers to Domino High School through the foreign exchange program in America just before the Battle City Tournament begins. While hanging with her new friends, Yugi, Joey, Tea, Tristan, and Bakura, she starts to realize that there is more to Yugi and Bakura than meets the eye. Not only that, her bracelet that was passed down to her begins reacting strangely. Does she share a distant past with the boys? And what is her purpose?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Kul Elna

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set in Ancient Egypt. The night Kul Elna falls.

Four sticks gently fly across the air, landing on the sandy hard surface only a few feet from where they were tossed. Only three of the sticks landed with the flat side facing up; the other one revealed the side that was left untouched.

A hand reaches down to a piece on the rectangular board, it’s light-colored, cone shape slightly difficult to grip. The piece is moved through the playing field of the board three spaces, passing a dark, hourglass-shaped pawn, and landing on the square depicting the House of Beauty in Egyptian hieroglyphs. 

“Good job,” a young boy on the other side of the board praised as he picked up the sticks from the floor. “Now, it's my turn.” He tosses the sticks in the same manner. Clattering on the floor next to a young girl’s sun-kissed knees, only one of the sticks lay with the flat surface facing up. The boy smiles up to the girl with his soft violet eyes filled with glee and playfulness. “Sorry, Meket, but you better hope my next play isn't a four or a five,” he chuckles.

Meket bites at her lower lip. Her emerald eyes quickly observe the board. She still has three pieces on the board and her opponent only has one. If he tosses a five, he wins the game; if he tosses a four, he will land on the Eye of Horus and send her piece to the water tile, meaning that pawn will be sent back to the middle of the board on the Rebirth tile.

The boy moves his pawn one space, switching the position of his piece with Meket’s. He gathers the sticks off the floor and tosses them again.

One.

The gleeful smile dissipates from his face and is replaced with a disappointed scowl. He takes the pawn and taps it on the Nile square, then slides it over the the Rebirth tile. Running his fingers through his messy, white hair, he let's out a heavy sigh, “You’re lucky this time, but you still have three pieces to get off the board and one of them are still close to the start of the field.” The boy points lazily to the lone pawn on the third tile.

Meket smiles proudly this time. “That may be so, but now I have another chance at winning,” she informs. Eagerly grabbing the sticks off the ground, she casts them to the floor for a number. None of the sticks’ flat surfaces show meaning she can move a piece five squares. Taking the lone piece near the beginning, the girl places the pawn on tile eight, then tosses the casting sticks again.

One.

Meket removes the pawn from the Eye of Horus tile and off the board completely. It is her turn again.

Four.

The pawn on tile eight travels across the playing field once again, landing only three squares behind the boy’s. She tosses the sticks again. Hoping for a one, four, or five.

Two.

She bites her lip gently, “Dang.” She places her pawn behind his on the board.

“Those were just lucky castings,” the boy grumbles as he picks up the sticks.

Before the casting sticks touch the floor, noises from outside catch the children's attention, distracting them from their game of Senet. Screams and shouting send chills racing down their spines. The sounds of crashing and shattering echo through the village of Kul Elna.

“Bakura,” Meket whispers nervously, watching him creep over to the brick wall beside them to see what was happening. He doesn't reply, but his body language told her that it is nothing good. She crawls over to him to see as well, her long, black hair barely brushing the sandy floor as she makes her way behind him.

Gasping in horror, Meket covers her gaping mouth, struggling not to scream. Kul Elna is under siege by the Pharaoh's men. Her eyes widen with fright, watching a fellow villager be impaled by a soldier's spear. A hand pulls harshly on her shoulder, pulling her back to hide her from the men outside.

Bakura, his eyes brimming with tears, grips tightly onto his friend's shoulders, his own body shaking with fear and anger. With his head hanging down, he wonders furiously, _Why… why is this happening? And how? How did they find the village?_ He glances up to the girl in front of him. Meket’s face is hidden in the palms of her hands as she cries, terrified and shaking. He grunts, angry about how his friend, an innocent girl who had already suffered from losing her home before coming to Kul Elna, has to go through the pain of loss again.

He stands up, lifting her at the same time. “We need to go,” he whispers, “before the soldiers find us and we meet the same fate.”

She clenches onto his cloth shirt, her fist trembling and feet not moving. “A-are we going to die…just like them,” she whimpers.

Her question causes him to tense for a second, before answering, “I won't let anything happen to you.”

The young girl wipes the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand and nods, “Alright.” She releases the hold of his shirt and he steps away to see the current situation outside.

Sniffing, she scans her surroundings, engraving the scenery of their little hideout into her mind so she wouldn't forget it. Her eyes cross over their disturbed game of Senet.

“It's clear,” Bakura says in a hushed voice, turning to his friend. His eyes widen when he sees her gathering the game pieces from the floor. “What are you doing?” he asks bewildered.

“I'm bringing it with us,” her voice cracks, shoving the pawns and casting sticks into the custom pull-out drawer of the heavy, stone boardgame.

“We can’t—.” he starts to say, but when she shoots her eyes up to him, he is taken aback by the determination in her eyes. He nods in submission and kneels down beside her to gather the rest of the fourteen pawns. Once the pieces are securely sealed in their stone compartment Bakura turns to Meket, “We have to go, now.”

The girl nods, following the boy out into the destruction of Kul Elna.

Many homes and horse wagons are ablaze, bodies of villagers and soldiers lay scattered over the ground due to resistance. Out in the distance, the children can see many of their people being herded like cattle to a large caged wagon.

“Don't slow down,” Bakura whispers, breaking the trance of empathy and fear the girl was succumbing to.

Meket glances up at Bakura, concentrating on where to step as they slink between burning buildings and pass bloody corpses throughout their path. Climbing up a thin trail of steps leading to a mountain on the opposite side of the Pharaoh's men, Bakura leads her to a hidden cavern obscured by large boulders and sand.

“We should be safe here until the soldiers leave,” the boy says quietly once they crawl through the small entry way. He turns to check outside, making sure that they weren't spotted or being followed.

“Why,” she starts, images of destruction and murder from the village flashing through her mind. “Why is this happening?” she raises her green eyes, puffy and red from crying, “Are the gods angry with us?”

Bakura watches helplessly as she sits on the grounds with her head in her arms and knees.

“Did I anger the gods somehow? Am I the reason everyone is suffering?” Meket pulls her legs in tighter as her body trimmers from her sobbing.

He crawls over to the girl, hurrying to her side to console his friend. He gently places a hand on her back. “The gods have no reason to be angry at you, Meket.” He clenches his other hand tightly, his blood boiling. “It is the Pharaoh the gods should be angry with. Mark my words, I will avenge our people.”

She slowly raises her head from her arms, sniffling and scrunching her brows together. “How?”

Looking her dead in the eyes, he replies, “I will destroy him and everything he loves, just as he has done to us.”

Meket’s eyes widen, completely baffled by what he proposed. “Y-you can’t!”

Bakura’s brows pull together with anger and confusion. “What do you mean I can't? Didn't you see what he has done to our home?”

“Not only will you get yourself killed, but you won't be any better than the Pharaoh, himself,” she explains, hoping he will change his mind.

He growls through clenched teeth, “Are you alright with what has happened here?”

She sucks in a breath, taken aback by his remark. “Of course I'm not alright with it. It's horrible and it terrifies me, but retaliating in the same manner is both stupid and suicidal.”

“You can't stop me, Meket. I will have our revenge, whether you are with me or not.” A darkness in his violet orbs grows, the fun-loving boy she was just playing Senet with changing before her very eyes.

She drops her head, her heart pounding in her chest. She doesn't agree with the idea, but she isn't just going to abandon him and let get himself killed. “I'm with you,” she says in a barely audible tone.

Bakura's eyes soften, feeling remorseful for the way he acted towards her. He plops down into the sitting position next to her, resting his back against the rock wall behind them. He stares out of the opening of the cavern, listening to the haunting sounds of Kul Elna. A light catches his attention. It's coming from inside their hiding place. He looks around for the source of the light, then sighs. It was just the light from the moon reflecting off of Meket’s golden bracelet—the scarab on the band seeming almost alive in the moonlight. He thinks back to when he had first asked her about her bracelet.

_“It was a gift passed down from my mother,” Meket replied, rubbing her thumb back and forth over the golden scarab, its wings wrapping around her wrist protectively. “She passed away a short time after, but I never took it off. She always told me to never remove it and that the Gods of Egypt have a plan set out for me.”_

Bakura lays down on the cool, sandy floor, “We should get some rest. We’ll have to go back to the village and retrieve what we need to survive. He closes his eyes, “Besides, I want to know why the Pharaoh attacked our people.”

Meket lifts her head and glances over to the boy curled up on the ground next to her. “Yeah,” she whispers, then crawls behind him, leaving the Senet game next to the wall. She lays down, her back against his, and closes her eyes tightly. The haunting sounds from the nearby village are still occurring. Pulling her knees in closer, she tries to focus on the heat radiating from her friend’s back, the thought that she will not be alone comforting her. As her body begins to relax, two tears stream down her temple and drip onto the ground. _Mother… what am I supposed to do?..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this prologue! I really enjoyed writing it. Hopefully chapter one will be posted soon. It's already been started, I just have been lazy or preoccupied with my Sessho story. Anyway, I will be writing this when I am suffering writer's block or am feeling burnt out on the other story, so bear with me. Love you guys! ~Gibbous1992


	2. Chapter 1: Mysterious Stranger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is more of an introductory chapter to get things started. (I feel they are the hardest to write.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry I haven't updated in a really long time. I've been so distracted lately, I'm not even kidding. Also, been reading Yona of the Dawn and I love it. Anyway, I really hope you like this chapter. I can't wait until I get to the Shadow Realm chapters. Now those will be interesting! Muwahahahaha! Thank you for reading!
> 
> PS: please leave a review to tell me what you think of the story so far. Much appreciated! ~Gibbous1992

 

Michelle lays back on her bed with her nose stuck in a book, enjoying the late afternoon while her brother is at work and her sister-in-law is at the store shopping for tonight's dinner. She holds her breath, reading the scene in Thomas Fahy's _The Unspoken_ where a mysterious man, clad in all black and face obscured by his hood, stops playing his flute and stalks toward Allison like a predator. Allison, the protagonist of the novel, is becoming very anxious, picturing the man who had killed her little sister and standing over the young girl's lifeless body, believing that she may be next. In that moment, she imagines that the man is going to "grab her and squeeze the air from her with his knotted hands."

The front door opens, startling Michelle back to reality.

"Michelle! Do you mind helping me put away the groceries?" Riko calls from the front door of the small apartment.

"Coming!" Michelle jumps up off her bed, shoving a bookmark into the pages of the book before hurrying to the living room.

"Thank you!" Riko smiles warmly, carrying the bags of produce to the kitchen. "By the way, your brother and I are going on a date tonight. Will you be alright on your own?" Riko asks, a slight expression of guilt on her sweet face as she stocks the water bottles into the fridge.

Placing the sack of fruit on the counter, Michelle smiles in an attempt to make her sister-in-law feel better. "Yeah. Go for it! Don't let me get in the way," she replies enthusiastically.

Riko's face softens, gratefully. ''Thank you."

With her finger on her chin thoughtfully, Michelle asks, "Do you mind if I walk around the city while you are gone? That way I can be a little more familiar with Domino before school on Monday."

"Oh, um..." Riko pauses, pondering the teen's question. "I don't mind, but you need to be careful." Her expression becomes more stern, "There are people here who aren't friendly. Make sure you have mace with you when you go. Also, stay clear of alleyways. There are thugs and gangs in town that like to hide out and fight each other there, if you know what I mean."

Michelle nods, taking in her sister-in-law's advice. And with her being from America, they won't go easy on her.

The front door opens, distracting her from her thoughts. She turns to see her brother entering the apartment, his short brown hair in a riled mess. He pulls his shoes off his feet and places them to the side before walking onto the gray carpet.

"Evening," he bows slightly with a grin on his tanned face. "Sorry I'm late. Work was busy today." He walks passed Michelle, patting her head like a child, then plants a gentle kiss on Riko's cheek, "How was your day?" he asks them while finding a place on the couch and relaxing for a moment.

"Good," the girls say in unison.

While putting away the last of the groceries, Riko continues, "Michelle was just asking about walking around Domino City while we are on our date. What do you think about that?"

Advancing forward innocently, the teen adds, "I'll be careful, I promise."

"Eh," Jake sighs, nonchalantly, hanging his head back on the cushions and letting his eyes close. "I think it will be fine. Besides, they have a huge arcade downtown and a couple of game shops, as well. I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself fairly well."

Michelle's face brightens, "Really? That's awesome!"

Opening one green eye to glance at his younger sister, he adds, "I'll give you some money before we leave. Just remind me." He shifts his eyes over to the clock on the wall, then stands up slowly, towering a foot or so above her. "I guess I'm going to clean up and get ready. We'll leave in an hour."

"Alright," Michelle replies before heading to her room.

Riko nods then heads to her own room to get ready for their date as well.

* * *

While in her room, Michelle grabs her phone off the charger and takes out a mini sized can of mace from the drawer of her desk. She then steps in front of her mirror.

Taking a deep breath while staring at her reflection, she gazes at the girl looking back at her. Her thick, black hair, the shade of onyx, streaked with ribbons of green, hangs just below the shoulders. Her black bangs, brushed to the side, bring out her bold emerald eyes—her favorite feature—lined with black eyeliner and mascara, complimenting her fair skin.

She raises her arms up, gathering her hair and twisting it against the back of her head. Reaching down, she picks up a silver and black hair clip from atop the dresser, then clips her hair into place. With the hair pulled back, her collection of diamond earrings sparkle in the leftover sunlight, shining through the window and bouncing off the mirror. There are three piercings on each of her earlobes, plus the one on the cartilage of the left ear.

In her peripheral, Michelle notices the golden band of a bracelet laying next to her. Glancing down to the winged scarab, the sight reminded her of her grandmother, who passed away not too long ago.

She was eight years old when she went on an expedition trip in Egypt with Grandma Louise, an archaeologist at the time. Part of the trip was spent studying the ancient tombs and the other was spent in an ancient kingdom that has been left in ruins for thousands of years. During their time in the ruins, Michelle happened to come across a golden scarab bracelet hidden deep in the sands, while playing. When she had picked it up, a strange sensation ran through her, spiking her interest in the ancient jewelry even more. After showing her grandmother the artifact and telling her how she felt, Grandma Louise suggested that the bracelet chose her and to keep it as a souvenir.

Michelle takes a deep breath, sending her thoughts to her grandmother's soul, then grabs a hold of the winged band and wraps the bracelet onto her left wrist, the opened wings resting just beneath a tattoo of an Egyptian ankh.

She gathers a few more bracelets from the drawer of her small wooden jewelry box and shoves them over her other hand, the random bands and charms sliding up and down the wrist. Then, she hurries back to her desk and pulls the plain, navy, zip-up hoodie from the back of the purple rollie-chair. The soft cotton fabric slides over her arms, hugging them comfortably. Stuffing the phone and mace into her jacket pockets, she shuts the bedroom light off and hastens out of the room to wait for her brother and Riko in the living room.

After a while, Riko and Jake exit their room, dressed up and looking as sharp as ever. Riko walks into the kitchen to grab her purse and Jake digs into one of his pockets, pulling out a small, red coin purse. He tosses it to Michelle, the heavy pack landing in her lap.

"Now just don't go blowing it all at one place. This should be plenty for getting something to eat and play games at the arcade," Jake says, straightening his collar.

Michelle grabs a hold of the purse and unties the string to open it. Inside, it is full of Japanese currency-mostly coins, but also some cash.

* * *

In the back seat of the car, Michelle checks the messages on her phone from her friends back in America.

 

7 missed messages…

 

_Thread one:_

RENEE: How's is going over there in Japan? I'm so jealous! You better bring me back something when you come home.

 

_Thread two; Group message:_

LYNN: Hey Michelle! Can't believe you are in Japan without us! So where are you staying?

MARIE: She's in Domino City. I heard that's where some of the Big Shot Duelists live.

LYNN: Are you talking about Kaiba? You've got such a big crush on him.

MARIE: I know! :)

MARIE: Get me his number, Michelle!

 

_Thread three:_

MOM: Hey, honey. Hope you guys are doing alright. Say hello to your brother and Riko for me. Anyway, just checking up on you. Call you tomorrow. Love you.

 

"Mom says 'Hi'," Michelle relays to the couple sitting up front before responding to the message. She replies to her mom's text, quickly, with a short and to the point answer.

 

_Thread three:_

MICHELLE: We're doing good. Okay. Love you, too.

 

Moving onto the group thread, she giggles at the two girls who have been her best friends since kindergarten.

 

_Thread two; Group Message:_

MICHELLE: You all are a bunch of dorks. If I meet him, I can try. No promises. And I'm staying with my brother and his wife. Talk about lucky.

 

The car comes to a stop in front of a line of small businesses.

"Here we are," Riko smiles.

Michelle quickly taps out a short reply to Renee on the keypad before flipping her phone closed. Getting out of the car, Michelle takes a deep breath to calm her nerves. Looking around, she notices all the little shops lining up the street with people walking along. In the distance, she can see a tall building with the letters KC on it.

"Hey, Riko?" Michelle says.

"Yes?"

Pointing to the building, she continues, "That's Kaiba Corp over there, isn't it?"

Following the direction of the girl's finger, she nods, "Yes, ma'am."

"It's huge!" Michelle gasps.

"Yeah, well, Kaiba Corp is one of the richest organizations in the world."

"So I've heard…"

Jake leans over to speak to his sister before departing, "Now, we'll call you when we head back this way." Reaching over Riko and pointing, he continues, "If you just keep walking that way, you'll enter Domino City Plaza. There will be a lot of people, around your age, hanging out in groups, but that's normal. Also, the arcade isn't far from here."

Michelle nods in response.

"Don't hesitate to go somewhere and eat," Riko adds, "There are a couple restaurants nearby, so they should be easy to find."

"Alright, thank you," the girl smiles. She waves goodbye to her brother and sister-in-law, then takes a deep breath and heads for the Plaza her brother mentioned.

After arriving at the Plaza, a hint of anxiety and excitement rushes through her body. People, mostly her age, are gathered in groups strolling around and hanging out. Their appearances are so diverse that it is a little comforting to know that she isn't going to completely out of place, here.

Ambling through the crowd, Michelle finds herself following a random group of teens. Her face flushes when one of the girls looks over their shoulder at her then whispers into another girl's ear.

"Hey! Haven't seen ya around," a guy's voice says from beside her. She glances over to him as he continues. "Where ya from?" The young man, with blond hair and brown eyes, walks alongside her with his hands behind his head, trying to appear to look cool.

Michelle blinks for a second, surprised by his approach. "Uh…"

Another voice, this time from a girl, cuts off her answer, sternly scolding the boy. "Joey, you can't just walk up to someone and ask that!"

"Oh, come on, Téa. She looked a little lost. I was just wantin' to help her," he rebuts, turning around to the group behind them.

Before she can turn around, as well, another guy shows up the the other side of her. "Don't mind my buddy, Joey. He doesn't know how to act in front of a pretty lady," the brown-haired guy cheeses, taking a hold of Michelle's hand.

"What'd you say, Tristan?!" Joey barks, squaring up to his friend.

Tristan releases Michelle's hand and squares up, also. "Heh Heh, you heard me."

"Knock it off, you two," Téa's voice demands. A hand rests on Michelle's shoulder, attempting to comfort her. "I'm sorry about that. They sometimes lose common sense when it comes to girls. By the way, I'm Téa," the girl smiles, appearing at her side at last. She has short brown hair and confident blue eyes. Turning her attention to the competing teens in front of them, she adds, "Those two morons are Tristan and Joey." A short boy with long, tri-colored, spiked hair shows up beside her, a nervous grin on his own face. "And this is Yugi," Téa introduces. Her hand gesturing to her smaller friend.

"Hi," he says, breaking his own silence.

"Yugi? As in Yugi Muto?!" Michelle asks, recalling the popular name.

"Y-yeah. You've heard of me?" he asks, a little surprised.

"Of course. I heard that you defeated Maximillion Pegasus at his own game in Duelist Kingdom." she replies. "My name is Michelle."

Joey stops messing around with Tristan after overhearing the girl talk about Duelist Kingdom. "Did ya hear about me, too? Joey Wheeler?"

"Uh," she starts, "not really." Her eyebrows come together apologetically, "I'm sorry."

Joey points to himself, "I placed runner-up in the finals. Ya haven't heard of me?" He presses.

Shaking her head slowly, she says again, "No. Sorry, but all the buzz was about the fact that Pegasus was defeated at his own game to a student named Yugi Muto from Domino City. The media hardly ever mentioned anything else regarding the other duelists." Seeing the bummed expression on the blond's face, she smiles, "Congratulations, though, for achieving second place. Also, to answer your question, Joey, I actually just transferred here from the States on a foreign exchange program."

"Oh, yeah?" He replies.

"Really?" Yugi asks. "That's neat. What class are you going to be in?"

Biting the inner corner of her lip, she answers, "Um… I don't really know yet. I'm supposed to get my uniform and class schedule tomorrow."

"Are you going to Domino High School?" Téa inquires.

"Yeah," Michelle chuckles nervously. _So many questions… At least they are friendly, though._

An arm drapes over her shoulders, followed by a Brooklyn accent. "Well, maybe you'll get to be in our class."

The short boy steps forward with a genuine expression on his face, "So, anyway, do you like to play games?"

Michelle's face lights up, "As a matter of fact, I do."

"Great!" Yugi exclaims. "We are on our way to the arcade. Would you like to join us?"

"Absolutely! I was actually on a mission to find it," she confesses.

Téa giggles. "Then Joey actually did something right," she teases.

Hearing Téa's comment, Joey remarks, ''Hey, now! I didn't get second place in Duelist Kingdom for nothin'."

''Haha! That's right, Joey. You earned your place there." Yugi says.

Tristan starts walking ahead, "Come on, guys. Let's get going."

The group nods in agreement, then follows close behind the him.

A few minutes has passed and a strange tingling sensation starts to occur in Michelle's left wrist. She mindlessly moves her hand and grabs a hold of her bracelet, the golden metal feeling abnormally hot to the touch. After realizing that the tingling in her wrist is coming from the bracelet, she nervously begins to look around, wondering if her new friends notice anything. But they are preoccupied with each other that they seem unaware, other than the occasional side glance she receives from Yugi. He doesn't say anything, though.

Michelle turns her attention to the crowd ahead and freezes. Someone is staring back at her, a pair of cold, dark eyes locked onto hers. The tingling in her wrist intensifies, the golden jewelry giving off a humming vibration.

_What is this?_ She grunts, clenching tightly onto the hot metal. _what is happening to my bracelet?_ Focusing on the white haired man in the crowd, his glare, haunting. _Who is that? And why is he staring at me?_

"Michelle, are you alright?" asks a concerned voice. "Michelle?"

She shifts her attention to Yugi, who has his hand resting on her shoulder, then glances back to where she saw the man staring at her. But he isn't there. "He's gone," she whispers.

"Who's gone?" Téa inquires, scanning the people ahead.

Joey chimes in, "Alright! Who's butt do I need to be kickin'?"

"Just point 'em out," Tristan adds, standing next to Joey with fists ready.

Michelle's face flushes with embarrassment. "Oh, I'm sorry. It's nothing. Forget it," she replies dismissively. Quickly changing the subject, she comments, "I'm ready to play some games. How about you guys?"

* * *

The arcade is huge! Games and machines light up the large, dark room with tons of colors; the music plays loudly, along with the sounds the machines make when the players operate the games.

Michelle slips a coin into the slot of the Galaga machine. After pushing the start button, she rapidly hits the Fire button, moving the analog stick back and forth while shooting and destroying the alien ships attacking her.

Her new friends observe her admirably as she continues to level up.

"Wow, you're pretty good at this," Yugi comments.

''Eh, I'm alright. I still haven't made it passed level 52," she shrugs.

"Well that's still good," Téa says with a smile.

Boom! There goes a life. When she lost the last ship to the enemy warship, she sighs. 15th place on the scoreboard. Not too bad, considering the highest score is a whopping 5,467,980.

''Hey, come over here. Let's play Street Fighter," Joey calls to the group.

Michelle and the others gather to the machines lined up with stools on either side.

Joey walks around to the chair on the other side of the game system and gestures Michelle to the side with the corresponding seat. "I'll be your opponent," he says with his Brooklyn accent.

"I play Winner!" Tristan chimes in.

Joey drops a coin into the slot, followed by his opponent. They simultaneously choose their fighting characters, then begin tapping at the buttons, fighting each other.

Michelle starts off well, but shortly after, Joey starts overtaking her, achieving a KO on the screen. During round two, though, she is able to keep up with her attacks, winning her own knockout. Round three, they remain evenly matched, their health bars continuously staying even. Then suddenly, Joey's fighter pulls off his special move, completely depleting the rest of Michelle's health.

"That was a good game. Let's play again,"Joey says, feeling enthusiastic.

''Hey," Tristan complains, "I'm next!"

''Alright, alright," he chuckles, dropping another coin into the slot.

"Michelle," Téa says, taking a hold of the girl's hand, "let's play Rhythm Rock!" Before waiting for an answer, she drags Michelle in the opposite direction.

"What?" The teen struggles to ask.

"It's a dancing game. I want you to play with me."

"I-I'm not that great of a dancer," Michelle protests.

Téa slows down, stopping in front of a large platform where two players are dancing off with each other.

"Wow," Michelle gasps, observing the stage, "I've never seen this game in such a large scale before."

"Yeah, it's pretty big," Téa says, gleefully. "Looks like the line isn't very long. Just mostly observers," she adds, scanning the crowd of teens behind the game's platform.

"Téa," Michelle says in a small voice, "that's a lot of people. I don't know if I can play with everyone watching me."

The girl's excited expression turns slightly disappointed, but she tries to encourage her new friend, ''Just imagine that there is nobody watching. I'll be right next to you. It'll be fun, I promise."

"Eh…" Michelle's face flushes nervously under the flashing lights from all around. _I don't want to say no, but there are too many people who will be watching. I don't even dance in front of my mom. Somebody save me,_ she pleads to herself.

As if on cue, somebody bumps into her, then runs off towards the back of the arcade. It takes her a moment to realize what happened until she put her hands in her pockets.

"It's gone," she mutters, her heart beginning to race. "my money," she frisks a little more, "and my phone!" Her eyes widen, the shock growing more apparent. "They're gone!" She turns around, searching for the person who had bumped into her.

A hooded man mazes through groups of people, heading for the backdoor that opens to the outside. Without saying anything to her friend, she hurries after him, hoping to catch him before it is too late.

Weaving her way through the crowd, Michelle quickly makes it too the door and then looks around to see if she may have reached it first, but he is nowhere to be found. She turns to a large heavy door where the security guard is standing and asks, "Did you happen to see a hooded man run out this way?"

The guard gives a slight nod and opens the door.

She walks out, not really thinking, and finds herself shut out and in a back alley, alone. Anxiety washes over her in a heavy wave. She can hear her heartbeat pounding in her chest. Frisking for the mace, she finds it and pulls it out of her other pocket, readying herself to spray it.

Off several feet away, there is a clattering, followed by two tin cans rolling out into the open from another side alley. Hesitating, Michelle forces herself to investigate, but halts when a frightened yell startles her into temporary paralysis.

She begins to breathe heavily, after realizing that she was holding her breath, and takes a step back. Her body, humming with adrenaline from fear, refuses to move when she sees someone, calmly, walking out from behind the walls of the buildings.

Her eyes widen, _It's him!_

A young man with long, white hair and wearing a dark blue school uniform stalks toward her with his hands clenched at his sides.

Unable to move, she watches as he approaches closer. _What is wrong with me?_ She asks herself. _Why can't I move?_

Lifting up his hands, the stranger asks in an English accent, "Do these belong to you?"

Michelle's eyes blink with surprise and the mace slips from her grasp, clattering on the ground. In the palms of his hands are her phone and her brother's coin purse.

"Th-thank you, but," she looks back up to his deep, brown eyes, "how did you know?"

He smiles, then replies, "Well, you are the only one out here."

Her face reddens and she pushes the strayed lock of hair behind her ear, "Oh, that's right." She crouches down to pick up the mace and shoves it back into one of her pocket. Then, she reaches to the items resting in his hands and as her fingers brush his skin, a sharp pain zaps them, causing the two teens to recoil.

"Ah! I'm sorry. I did not mean to shock you," Michelle apologizes.

"He he. It's quite alright," the stranger replies. " I wasn't expecting that. Let's try it again, shall we?"

Michelle can't contain herself and let's out a giggle. "Yeah." She attempts to take the items once more and this time they don't shock each other. "I'm Michelle," she introduces herself.

"Bakura," he replies.

"It's nice to meet you, Bakura."

He smiles down to her, his eyes closing, "The pleasure is mine." Glancing back at her, he adds, "Well, I better be going. Maybe we will run into each other again."

"That sounds good to me," she replies with a huge grin plastered on her face. _What am I saying? I sound like a moron and I just met the guy._

Bakura chuckles with amusement, "Goodnight, Michelle," then walks away. But before she can reply, the door behind her opens.

"There you are! We've been looking all over for you," Téa calls out.

"What are you doing back here in this alley?" Yugi asks, confusion and concern written on his face.

Michelle drops her gaze to the phone and coin purse in her hands, then shifts her eyes to where she last saw Bakura, but he is gone.

"Are you alright?" Joey inquires, sticking his face in hers with concern.

Her eyes widen as she realizes how close he is to her, then remembers what they were asking. "Oh, someone had pick-pocketed me, so I chased after them. But by the time I made it out here, a stranger had retrieved my stuff for me," she explains. "That's right," she murmurs to herself, "that thief…"

"Where are you going?" Yugi asks while watching her walk away.

Her instinct is telling her to stay away, but her curiosity dominates her actions. Turning the corner, her friends close behind, she expects to see the thief beaten up or a sign that there was some sort of conflict.

Michelle's brows knit together in confusion. "What?"

There is no evidence of anyone being in this alley, no sign of dispute. Nothing.

A chill runs down her spine. The atmosphere feels oddly empty and dark. The girl takes an involuntary step back, feeling uncomfortable. "H-he's not here," she stammers, ready to turn and run.

"What's wrong, Michelle? You look a little pale," Tristan comments.

"Oh. Uh, it's nothing. Let's go." Michelle forces a smile on her face, trying to hide her distress.

Everyone looks at her strangely for a moment, then shares glances with each other before agreeing.

Joey stretches his arms above him, trying to relieve the tension in the group, "I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving."

"Now you're speaking my language!" Tristan says excitedly.

* * *

~Burgerpalooza~

Michelle takes a bite of her burger, listening to the gang talk about the events that had recently occurred in their daily lives. They've mentioned their time in Duelist Kingdom and how Yugi's grandpa had fallen ill due to Pegasus's dark scheme. Joey even spoke about how he fought to win the prize money for his sister's operation that is soon to happen. Throughout all the stories and updates the four of them shared, Michelle's eyes keep drifting to the golden pyramid hanging from Yugi's neck. There is something _familiar_ about it.

A vibration in her pocket, followed by a jingling tone, snaps the girl back to reality. Pulling her cell phone out, the small screen on the device reads "Jake". Michelle scrunches her face apologetically, "Sorry, I gotta take this."

"No problem," Joey says. He scoots out the the booth from beside her, letting the girl out.

"I'll be right back," Michelle promises.

The group smiles and Tristan replies, "We'll be right here."

The girl gives a quick wave to her friends, then hurries out the front door while answering the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, how are you holding up?" Jake asks.

"Good, actually," she replies. "I've already made a few friends!"

"Oh yeah?" Jake chuckles. "Well that's good. Anyway, I was just wanting to check up on you and make sure you are still doing okay. We'll be heading that way in about 15 to 30 minutes. Where are you going to be?" He asks.

"Right now, I'm with my friends, eating at the… Burgerpalooza," she says, craning her neck to see the sign with the restaurant name.

"Alright. See you in a little bit," Jake replies. "Love ya. Bye."

"Love you, too," she says before hearing the phone disconnect. Letting out a sigh, she turns to go back inside, shoving the cell back into her left pocket.

As Michelle approaches the gang, Tristan greets, "Hey! Welcome back!" He and Joey then hurry out of the booth, "Here. You can have your seat back."

Michelle chuckles, feeling amused, "Haha, thanks guys."

"So," Téa starts, "is everything okay?"

"Oh," Michelle turns to the girl on the opposite side of the table, her eyes catching a glimpse of Yugi's pyramid, "it was just my brother checking up on me. He said he will pick me up in 15 to 30 minutes."

"Oh, okay. Well, we can stay here with you, that way you won't be left alone," Téa volunteers.

"You don't have to," Michelle waves her hands dismissively, feeling guilty.

"Don't worry about it," The boys next to her comment.

"Yeah," Yugi chimes, "we're friends now, so we don't mind keeping you company."

Michelle's cheeks flush, "Thank you, guys."

"No problem," Tristan says, leaning over the table to look at her.

"And besides," Téa smiles. "It's nice to have another girl around. Especially when you're stuck with these goons," she gestures to the boys.

"Hey, Yuge, check it out," Joey calls. Michelle looks over and sees that his brown eyes are observing something on her arm. "Michelle's bracelet looks similar to your puzzle. Like they come from the same place or somethin'."

"Hm?" Yugi and Michelle say in unison.

The dark haired girl pulls her sleeve further up her arm to fully expose the golden brand. "This?"

Everyone gathers around to get a better look at the bracelet on the girl's wrist. A large, winged scarab wraps around the Michelle's small wrist, the gold reflecting the light from the room. Small carvings are engraved on either side of the scarabs body, revealing a pair of Egyptian ankhs along the opened wings.

"Wow," Téa gasps, "it's beautiful."

"Thank you," Michelle smiles, her cheeks feeling hot from all of the attention.

"Hey, Michelle? Is this from Ancient Egypt?" Yugi asks, his eyebrows risen with curiosity.

"Yes, actually," she confirms. "I actually found it when I was in Egypt with my late grandmother."

"Incredible," Yugi gasps. "You mean, you've actually been to Egypt?"

Michelle nods confidently, "Sure have."

"What was it like?"

"Well," she begins, "it was hot. But seeing the ancient pyramids up close was amazing!" Giddy emotions swell inside her as she recalls her trip in Egypt. "And my grandmother and I came across the ruins of a lost city that had been abandoned for thousands of years. That's where I found this," she gestures to the bracelet hugging her arm. "In fact, it was almost like it found me…"

"Found you?" The group, fully intrigued with her words, inquired.

She sighs, then continues. "When I picked it up for the first time, a strange sensation had coursed through my entire body. Almost like… I don't know." Feeling embarrassed, she admits, "I'm sorry. I know. I sound crazy, don't I?"

Yugi places a hand over hers, "Not at all. I think I know what you mean. You see," he grabs the rope that is holding the pyramid in place and lifts it up towards her. "When my grandpa gave me this, it was in pieces. And from the moment I touched it, I knew I was destined to put it together. And ever since I've solved the Millennium Puzzle, I still feel like there's something more that I need to do." He stops, seeming distracted for the moment.

Michelle giggles, a wave of relief washing over her, "So I'm not the only crazy one. That's good to know."

Yugi laughs nervously, "Yeah, I guess not. By the way, you should come over to my grandpa's game shop sometime." he says, changing the subject.

Shop leans back and pulls her arm away from the table. Heartbeat racing, she replies as "cool" as she can, "That sounds great." Her eyes drift back to the puzzle. _What is it about that damn puzzle that keeps drawing my attention? It's obviously Egyptian, but that's not it. There's something so damn_ familiar _about it, I just can't figure it out._

"Oh, Michelle?" Téa says, her eyes catching something. "Is that a real tattoo?"

The girl turns her arm and glances at the large ankh on her forearm, "Yeah. It was birthday gift from my grandmother before she passed."

"Oh," Téa sighs, feeling pity, "I'm sorry to hear that. You and your grandmother must have really loved Ancient Egypt."

"Yeah," Michelle exhales, "but I have many fond memories of her from when she was alive. She would want me to be happy."

"Yeah," Joey says, trying to be more upbeat. "And we'll be here to make sure that happens."

"Joey's right!" Tristan adds. "With us around, there won't ever be a dull moment."

"You got that right," Téa grumbles, then laughs after making eye contact with Michelle. Yugi also joins in the laughter.

After a while, Michelle's phone starts ringing and she pulls the phone out, answering her brother's call.

"Hello?" She giggles, amused with the ridiculous faces Tristan and Joey were making.

"Hey, kiddo. We're here. Are you ready to go?" Jake inquires, hearing the commotion in the background.

"Oh, yeah. I'll be out there in a minute." Michelle hangs up the phone, then turns her attention to the group. "Well, guys. My brother is here to pick me up, so I guess this is farewell," she says, feeling a little disappointed to cut their time together short.

"Alright," Yugi says. "Don't forget to come by my grandpa's game shop sometime. It's called Kame Game."

"Okay," she nods, "I definitely will."

Téa grabs a napkin from on top of the table and a marker from her purse. "Here. I'm going to give you my number. Just call me whenever you feel like it," she encourages, scribbling numbers onto the paper. She then slides the napkin across the table in front of Michelle and then shoves the marker back into her purse.

Michelle takes the napkin, scanning over the numbers, then folds it up nicely, and slips it into her other pocket. "Thanks. Will do." She follows Joey out of the booth and then turns to them, bowing respectfully, "It was nice meeting all of you. Thank you for letting me join your group. It was a lot of fun."

Two arms drape over her shoulders, Tristan and Joey on either side of her. "It is our honor," Tristan comments.

"Yeah," Joey agrees, "You're a cool chick. Of course, we would have ya a part of our gang."

Covering her mouth with a loosely closed fist, Michelle giggles in amusement. _What dorks,_ she laughs to herself. _They remind me of my friends back home._

Taking a deep breath, the girl waves goodbye to her friends, then hurries out of the restaurant. She finds her brother's black Toyota just outside and invites herself into the back seat.

"Hey, Michelle. Did you have fun?" Riko asks once the teen is situated in the car.

"Yeah," she replies, "I even met the boy who was crowned the 'King of Games'. How cool is that?"

"Yugi?" Jake inquires.

Michelle nods, "Yep. Yugi Muto. Although, he's a lot shorter than I expected."

The car erupts into laughter.

The teen shrugs, "Well?"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," Jake apologizes, still trying to come down from his laughing fit. "It was just the way you said it. You sounded a little disappointed by it." Riko nods in agreement, also trying to control herself.

_Those two are too perfect for each other,_ Michelle can't help but think, every time she sees them together. "It's fine."

Looking out the window, she watches the buildings and people zoom by. Suddenly, an image flashes before her. A face. His face.

"Bakura," she whispers, remembering the cold stare he gave her when she first saw him and comparing it to the somewhat innocent smile he wore after handing over the items that were stolen from her. "Oh," Michelle digs into her pocket, pulling out the coin purse to give back to her brother. "Thank you for the money. Here's the rest that I didn't spend."

Jake's hand waves dismissively to her, "Just keep it. It's not a big deal."

"Oh, well thank you," she replies, shoving it back into her pocket.

"You're welcome. You can use it when you are at school. Speaking of which, don't forget, we are getting your uniform and everything tomorrow morning."

"Okay," Michelle says, feeling nervous again. _I hope I get in the same class with Téa and the others..._


	3. Chapter 2: Recurring Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!! I hope you enjoy this chapter and I apologize that it took so long to finish. On another note, this story will have a mixture of the US and Jap versions, as well as the manga. How dare 4Kids take out such an awesome element of the show! (lol, but I love all versions.) Anyway, Enough of my babbling. Enjoy!!! ~Gibbous1992

It’s late in the evening and Michelle is ambling through the city while on her way to one of the game shops nearby. In the distance, she sees a sign that reads “Kame Game”. The wind blows harshly, whipping her hair into her face. She looks up to the sky, the thick, heavy clouds flashing above her.

“A storm?” Michelle utters with a hint of surprise. She didn’t recall that the weather was supposed to be anything but clear skies.

Cutting through the alley, she hurries to the little shop. Disappointment swells in her chest when she sees the sign on the door showing that the place is closed.

A drop of water lands on her cheek, then another just above her eye, causing her to flinch. Michelle begins to rap at the door quickly as the rain starts falling heavily. Eventually, the door finally becomes ajar, eerily creaking as it slowly opens. Oddly, there is no one there holding the door open and there is no sign of life coming from the inside.

“H-hello?” The girl stutters, unsure whether or not she should be entering the building. She steps out of the pouring rain into a dark room, nothing she expects from a little gaming shop. The walls are of stone and the room seems to stretch forward into a darkness she cannot see. Only a single torch posted on the wall beside her illuminates the surrounding abyss.

Feeling like she just trespassed into the wrong domain, she quickly turns around to go back outside, but the door is gone and is replaced with only more darkness.

“Where’s the door?” she blurts out. Panicking, she stretches her arms out into the nothingness, attempting to find a dead end, “It was just here? What happened?”

Something bumps into Michelle’s shoulder, almost knocking her over. She tries to look, but there is no trace of anyone or anything. Taking a few uneasy breaths, she goes to the burning torch and yanks it from the wall.

“Come get me, I dare you…” she threatens, then swipes the torch back and forth in front of her. Gulping, she continues to walk down the dark pathway, the light creeping along the bricked walls of beige rock.

Steps pour out of the abyss in front of her and she cautiously ascends them until she stops in front of a large stone slab door. Cracks web over the face of it and in the center is a large depiction of the Eye of Wdjat, similar to that on Yugi’s pyramid.

The eye begins to glow; Michelle’s heart pounds harder inside her chest. She takes a step back, forgetting that the stairs descend in that direction, and falls to the ground with a loud oof. The torch clatters away behind her, its extinguished flame scattering tiny, faint embers, as well as a lingering stench of smoke, and inviting the darkness to quickly swallow her whole.

A short breeze of warm air brushes against her back, followed by another as if someone or something is breathing on her. A chill runs down Michelle's back and she blindly swings an arm out behind her, trying to get it away.

“Stay back,” she demands, her confidence only a bluff. Sounds of scurrying and scraping echoes in the blackened corridor.

A deep, throaty chuckle responds, but fades away just as quickly as it started. She hears heavy footsteps approach her, so she swings her arms out, defensively, once again. This time, one of her arms are stopped by a large hand grasping ahold of it.

Michelle’s breath catches in her throat.

A familiar, yet foreign voice of a man speaks to her from the darkness. “A woman, like you, shouldn’t be left alone in the shadows,” he says, in an almost threatening tone.

Michelle tries to yank her arm away, but during her attempt, a burst of light disperses into the abyss and reveals bronzed fingers, decorated in golden rings, wrapped around her small wrist. A dark red sleeve with two white stripes cloaks over his arm and obscures his face to block out the bright golden light.

Looking back to where the light is coming from, Michelle sees the ancient door ajar slowly, pouring out more light. But before her eyes are able to adjust to the light and see what is on the other side of the door, a harsh tug on her wrist pulls her attention as the man begins to pull her back into the shadows.

Michelle struggles to keep his pace, “What are you doing? What do you want with me?” When he doesn’t answer, she purses her lips irritably. She can’t see who he is with the red robe covering him. Not even his hair shows in the dimming light due to the red hood thrown over his head.

Glancing over her shoulder out of curiosity, she attempts to see why they were leaving the door that she believed to be the exit, but what pours out appear to be ancient Egyptian soldiers carrying spears as the march through the corridor in their direction.

She gasps, quickening her pace to match the man’s, “Are they coming after me?”

“Hmph,” he scoffs, mockingly, “Did you upset the Pharaoh, again?”

“Huh?” she raises an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?” Just then, she trips on something and stumbles to the ground, breaking the man’s grasp on her.

He stops and looks down to her, a mixture of annoyance and concern in his expression. Violet colored eyes watch her carefully, a scar running down his cheek from over the right one, and his white hair is in a mess underneath that hood. His bare chest peeks out from the flaps of his robe, surprising the girl with a nicely tanned and toned body to gawk at.

A loud roar echoes from the shadows, startling her.

“Let’s not keep them waiting,” the man extends his hand, a devilish smile forming from his lips.

Michelle gulps, reluctant to take it.  _ What is that supposed to mean?  _ She slowly lifts her hand, unsure whether or not she should trust the man before her. And her mind keeps replaying what he said, wondering who he’s referring to by saying “them”. The soldiers? Or someone else?

Running out of patience, the cloaked man reaches down and grabs a hold of her outstretched hand, yanking her up from the ground. He continues to stalk quickly, farther into the darkness and turning corners as if mazing through a labyrinth. The echo of the soldiers grows louder as they pursue closer.

“What did I just get myself into?” she mumbles dreadfully, letting the stranger guide her through the corridors.

Ghastly noises fill the air around them, making her feel nervous. Up ahead, though, a faint glow of red and orange emanates from somewhere nearby and a wave of relief washes over her.

“Um,” she says, but stops with second thoughts. She wants to ask him who he is, but something inside the girl tells her that she already knows. She is also curious to know where they are going and what to expect, but the gnawing suspense kept the question knotted in her throat.  _ Am I really safe with him? Can I really trust him? _

They approach another set of stairs bathed in a glow of light as it descends deeper into the mysterious maze of rock. The man pulls Michelle closer, guiding her to lead in front of him. She turns to him to protest, but when she does, those violet eyes that she can barely see glare down at her for the hesitance.

Michelle gulps, followed by a nudge of impatience from the man, and she slowly walks down the steps with anxious nerves shaking her entire body. The bottom opens up into a large chamber, with bowls of fire lighting the room. Egyptian hieroglyphs and pictographs cover the walls and there in the middle of everything is a large round stone. In the center of the circle, the stone is carved to look like a Pharaoh’s sarcophagus and in seven places over the depiction, seven shapes are missing from the stone. Items are absent from their appropriate resting places.

Michelle continues to walk to it, not noticing the shadows and creatures lurking in the chamber with her. A swelling of emotion builds up inside her, despair and confusion.  _ What is this?  _ Michelle mouths, brushing her fingertips over one of the empty holes. A tear brims her right eye and she jerks her head back to the man. “What is this?!” She barks, the hurt showing relentlessly.

The man grimaces, “It’s what is left of our people.” He walks up next to her, then glares down into her eyes, “Those who the Pharaoh sacrificed in order to make the Millennium Items.”

“What?” Michelle gasps, unable to control herself, “You’re wrong.” She takes a step away from him, baffled by his words, “It wasn’t him.”

His brows pull together in disdain.

She swallows, her throat feeling dry, “He...He couldn’t have.”

“You fool,” he growls under gritted teeth, “You’ve grown too close to him.”

Michelle can hear her heart pounding through her ears.  _ The Pharaoh? _

A rumble of footsteps and charging soldiers storm the chamber and the man’s expression grows dark and menacing as he begins to laugh.

The girl backs away from him and glances to the armed men preparing to attack. Her eyes widen and her mouth drops open as she realizes the danger that emits from the shadows. Strange creatures peel from the darkness of the walls and beasts loom overhead. Eyes glow with evil as they watch their prey, helplessly unaware, surround her and the man thought to be her companion.

“Look out!” she screams to the soldiers, pointing to the monsters that surround them. The white-haired man glares daggers at her then turns his attention back to his victims.

“There is nowhere for you to run,” he mocks, a devilish gleam radiating from his expression. “Now, enjoy your travel to the depths of Hell.” The man begins to laugh uncontrollably as the monsters tear the soldiers into pieces and devouring their flesh and bones.

Michelle stumbles back, horrified by the scene taking place in front of her. She cups her hands tightly over her ears to block out the screams of anguish and fear from the men as their bodies snap and crunch between the demons’ jaws. The sight of blood spurting and spraying everywhere scars her with the image of torture and death.  _ Why? Why? _ She begs, clenching her eyes shut.  _ Why is this happening?! Why is he doing this?! I can’t take it! _

Scrambling to get to her feet, Michelle pushes past the man and charges toward the stairs, which are partially being blocked by a large green creature with huge claws and several red orbs all over its body. The monster turns its attention to her, its victim’s blood dripping from its mouth, and raises a claw to strike her down. As the demon’s claw comes down at her, she manages to barely avoid it and continue for the stairs. But as her foot almost touches the first step, the tail of another creature slams into her, sending her crashing into the wall and knocking the air out of her.

The taste of iron fills her mouth and she wipes it with her knuckles, the blood smearing across her bottom lip and the back of her hand. Making eye contact with the white-haired man one last time, she swallows hard, holding back the tears that threaten to escape her, and hurries up the stairs to maze through the haunting labyrinth.

Again, the corridor is dark as very little light illuminates the surrounding stone walls. The repetitive tapping on the floor echoes in the shadows as Michelle pushes herself to continue running.

She struggles, losing stamina. A slithering sound from behind causes her to shriek, “Stay away!”

Michelle stumbles to the ground, scraping her knees on the sandy granite floors. She huffs, trying to catch her breath and the metallic taste fills her mouth for the third time. She spits the blood onto the ground and gently wipes her busted lip with the back of her hand, smearing the crimson across her cheek. Clenching her teeth, tightly, and pushing herself up again, Michelle forces herself to keep going, the constant movement causing a small stream of blood to drip from her right knee.

Menacing laughter begins to echo through the corridor.

Clenching her eyes shut, she yells out, “Stay  _ away _ ! I don’t  _ want  _ to go back!” Michelle opens her eyes, just in time to turn the corner before running into the wall.

In the distance, she can see a bright light with stone steps ascending into it. Relief rushes over her and she begins to run harder to the “exit.”

Her right foot lands onto the first step. She’s safe now. The demons cannot touch her; the monsters will be left in the shadows of darkness, unable to escape. She’s free. Free to live in peace and not in fear. It’s finally over. Finally--.

A monstrous hand, huge and with claws, pours from the light, wrapping its fingers around her body before she can pull out of its reach.

Michelle screams, trying to pull away, the laughing becoming more intense and amused by her writhing about. She struggles profusely to free her arms, which are pinned beneath the huge fingers. The hand begins to squeeze her body tighter in reaction to her resistance.

“Let me go,” she strains. “Let. Me. Go.” Tears pool in her eyes.  _ It hurts _ , Michelle whimpers, still trying to pull her arms out of the monster’s grip.

She notices that the creature’s arm begins to appear from the light as she is carried further into the darkness.

“No. NO!” She thrashes about. “Don’t take me back! I don’t want to go back!”

“--chelle,” a concerned voice echoes.

The girl continues to throw herself around, hoping to somehow break free.

“Michelle! Wake up!”

_ Wake up? What are you talking about? I am awake! Let me go!  _ She refuses to stop wiggling around, trying with all her might to fight off the monster, knowing her efforts are useless.

“Michelle! It’s only a nightmare! You need to wake up!”

_ A nightmare?  _ For a moment, she stops moving, thinking about what is being said.  _ A nightmare? Is that really all this is? _ Looking around, she wonders.  _ Everything seems so real… So familiar… That’s right. _ It finally makes sense. “I’ve dreamt this before.”

Her body shakes a little more and she finally opens her eyes. Jake is standing over her with concern written all over his face. Michelle sits up and wipes the sweat from the side of her face.

“Are you alright?” Jake asks, the worry still heavy in his voice.

Still breathing raggedly, she doesn’t answer right away. The metallic taste touches her tongue again the she lifts her fingers to feel her lip.

“You bit your lip in your sleep,” he informs calmly, sitting on the bed beside her, then asks, “Was it the same one?”

Michelle gives a small nod, avoiding her brother’s gaze.

Jake runs a hand through his hair, sighing heavily, “Other than last night, when was the last time you had a nightmare?”

The teen takes a hesitant breath and lifts a shaky hand, grabbing a hold of her shoulder. “Maybe a week before coming here… But they haven’t been this bad for a long time…”

“Do you know what might have triggered them, then.”

She slowly shakes her head, “... No.”

Jake gently drops a heavy hand onto the top of her head, “Well, it’s over now. Just try to relax a little.” He stands up, ready to excuse himself from her room, but is stopped by a tug on his sleeve. Looking down, he sees his sister fingers clamped tightly on the hem of the sleeve.

“Does… Does Riko know?” She inquires, feeling shameful that she needed to be rescued from her mind’s horror two nights in a row.

He takes a deep breath and places a hand over hers, “I haven’t told her the details, just that you occasionally suffer from really bad dreams.” Squeezing reassuringly, he continues, “It would be best if you told her about it.”

Michelle says nothing, only stares down to the floor.

Jake pulls away, “Well, I better start getting ready for work. If you need anything, just let me know.”

“Okay,” she says in a small voice. Once her brother leaves the room, closing the door behind him, Michelle glances over to the clock sitting on her desk.

It reads  _ 5:27 a.m. _

Still shaken from the nightmare, she pulls her knees up close to her chest and wraps her arms around them, feeling helpless.

A few minutes pass by and the girl finally unfolds from her spot on the bed. She scoots off the mattress, lousy from exhaustion, and walks to the desk with her school uniform laying on top.

As if on autopilot, she undresses out of her cozy black pajamas and slips into the blue skirt of her uniform. Then she shoves her arms through the sleeves of her white and pink button up shirts, finishing it off with the huge, blue bow underneath her chin. The uniform fits fine, but she begins to feel awkward wearing a short skirt and a bow on her chest. Back in America, she didn’t have to wear school uniforms, so she just stuck with T-shirt and jeans, or shorts if it was hot out.

The cell phone on the desk starts to vibrate, startling her from her sense of loss. Picking it up, she sees it's a message from one of her friends back home.

RENEE: How many points would I get if I run over this group of teenagers?

Unable to control herself, she starts to giggle. Immediately typing out a response on the keyboard, she says…

MICHELLE: 5 points each! Haha!

Almost immediately, the teen’s phone vibrates again.

RENEE: Alright! I just earned 35 points total. Sweet!

MICHELLE: Haha! So what are you doing?

Michelle sits back down on the bed, her fears and anxieties melting away.

RENEE: I’m going to my brother’s house because I have to babysit my niece.

MICHELLE: Oh. Sounds fun. Don’t let her beat you up this time! XD

Renee’s last comment made her laugh out loud.

RENEE: Hey now! That little tike is a monster!

There's a light knock on the door, catching the dark haired girl's attention.

“Michelle, breakfast is ready,” Riko calls through the closed door.

“Alright,” she replies. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Okay.”

Listening to the sound of Riko’s footsteps fade away, Michelle takes a deep breath and finishes getting ready for school. Once her teeth are brushed and she’s confident in her appearance, she gathers her things needed for school and shoves them in her bag. Carrying it out of the door, she slides it shut and meets her brother and sister-in-law in the dining room of their apartment.

“So,” Jake starts, then takes a quick sip of his coffee, “are you ready for your first day at Domino High School?”

Michelle sits down at the table with her brother and picks up a piece of toast from her plate. “Well, as long as there aren't any monsters climbing out the the floors or through the walks to devour me, I think I'll be fine,” she jokes, recalling some of her recurring nightmares. “Besides,” the teen adds, “at least there will be a few people I already know, so I won't feel too awkward.”

“That's right,” Jake nods with recollection, “Yugi and his friends.”

“Yeah,” she sighs, “But even so, I still feel nervous. That school is huge! Much bigger than what I'm used to.”

Riko joins the others at the table. “Well, feeling nervous is normal. But I think you will do great,” she encourages. “You've adjusted so well already.”

“Mmm...I guess,” Michelle says, then continues eating her breakfast.

******

Michelle arrives at the school just in time for the tardy bell to ring and the students clear themselves from the courtyard and into their classrooms. Anxiety rushes through the teen’s body and her face turns red.  _ Great, I’m late and I’m the only one out here. I knew I should have… _ Before she can finish her train of thought, a voice cuts from behind.

“Hey! Michelle!”

She turns around and sees Joey running in her direction, obviously running late, himself. “Joey,” she responds back.

He stops in front of her and doubles over to catch his breath.

“You, too, huh?” Michelle asks, pitying him.

Straightening back up, he replies, “Yeah, I had a hard time wakin’ up this mornin’.”

“Not me,” she mumbles under her breath.

Looking up at the clock on the front of the building, he gasps, “Ah! We better hurry before we get in trouble!”

“Yeah… Hey! Wait up!” Michelle calls after him as she tries to catch up to Joey’s pace.

When they get inside, she stops to dig out a paper from her jacket pocket. “So,” she starts, grabbing the boy’s attention, “Do you mind helping me find the class I’m supposed to be in?”

“Is that your schedule?” He asks, pointing at the paper. Michelle nods and he reaches for it, “Lemme see that for a sec.” He takes it from her hands and scans over the writing. His face brightens, “Alright! Ya got the same class as me and Yug!”

“Really? That’s awesome!” Michelle replies, feeling both excitement and relief in knowing that she shares a class with her new friends.

After Joey walks with Michelle to her locker to switch her shoes, they head to class, where the teacher has already started the lecture.

“You’re late, Mr. Wheeler,” the teacher scowls.

“Eh, sorry, Teach.” Joey quickly bows, then hurries to his seat, behind Yugi.

The teacher then turns his attention to the girl standing awkwardly in the doorway, “And who might you be?”

“I, um… I’m the foreign exchange student that is supposed to be in this class…” Michelle says, then remembers to show respect to the teacher in a bow.

The dark-haired man looks down at his desk and adjusts his glasses before shuffling through the papers. When he finds what he is looking for, he gestures for the girl to come in. “Alright, class. This is Michelle Robinson. She is a foreign exchange student from North America.” Glancing back up to the girl, he continues, “I’m Mr. Takayama. Now, if you will please take a seat over there in that empty desk so I can continue with the lesson, that will be wonderful,” the teacher says waving his hand for her to join the class.

“Yes, sir,” the teen replies before scanning over the onlookers in the room. Her cheeks turn pink noticing everyone is staring at her. Joey gives her a small thumbs up. Yugi smiles up to her encouragingly. Téa, who is sitting in the desk to Yugi’s left, waves a tiny hello to greet her. Michelle returns the gesture and continues to look for an empty desk.

There is one in front of the boy wearing a deep scowl on his face, his blue eyes locked onto her.

“Quickly, now,” the teacher urges, sounding slightly annoyed.

Startled, Michelle hurries and takes her seat in front of the brown-haired guy. She can feel his eyes peering into her back, scrutinizing her. Intimidating her. She tugs a loose lock of black hair behind her ear.  _ Quit staring at me…  _ she begs.

Mr. Takayama clears his throat, then turns around. “For those of you who are late, if you would open your math books to chapter 19, we will continue with our lesson about Derivatives.” He starts jotting on the chalkboard, writing out the Derivative formula and explaining the details of how to solve it.

Michelle opens her book to the corresponding pages and instantly feels dread. She hasn’t learned about Derivatives back at her own school.  _ Man, _ she gulps, looking horrified at the pages,  _ I knew Japan’s education is more advanced than back home, but man! I’m in trouble! _

As class speeds on, she forgets about the guy sitting behind her; her mind remains focused on writing down notes on how to solve the formulas that are given as examples on the board.

The school bell rings, signalling the end of first period.

Mr. Takayama clears off the board, then gathers his books, “When we come back to class tomorrow, I expect for you to have the rest of Lesson 1 completed and ready to turn in by the beginning of the period. Have a wonderful day.” The teacher then leaves the classroom, leaving the students to take their five minute breaks and ready for the next subject.

“Hey, Michelle,” Téa waves down the girl from the front of the classroom, “Come on!”

Michelle looks around for a second, noticing that no one is grabbing their books, then she shoves her remaining things under her seat and climbs out of her desk, bumping into someone in the process.

“Watch where you are going, newbie,” the guy with the dark, brown hair and judgy, blue eyes complains.

“Oh, I'm so sorry,” she bows, “I forgot you were there.”

“Whatever,” he says with annoyance, pushing past her.

“Geez, Kaiba,” Téa says, indignantly, “You don't have to be so rude.”

“Yeah, rich boy,” Joey chimes in, balling up his fist, “why doncha show some decency once in awhile?”

“You losers are beneath me,” he replies, leaving the room.

“Why you,” Joey growls, ready to charge at the arrogant asshole.

“Just ignore him, Joey,” Yugi urges, trying to hold back his fired up friend. “It’s not worth it.”

Michelle gawks at the group. “So that was Seto Kaiba?”

“Yeah,” Téa sighs, “but he’s a real jerk, sometimes.”

_ I can’t believe I didn't recognize him… _

“Hey, guys,” a familiar English accent greets from beside Yugi.

Michelle glances up, her emerald eyes locking onto chocolate orbs. Her expression brightening, she replies, excitedly, “Bakura!”

Recognition forms on his face, “Oh, Michelle? I didn’t know you were starting school here.”

Joey stops fighting against Yugi and turns to Téa and the others, “Did I miss somethin’?” Yugi raises an eyebrow, “You two know each other?”

“Uh,” Bakura smiles bashfully, “kind of.”

“He returned my stolen things the other night,” she explains. “By the way, thank you again for that.”

“It’s not a big deal, really.” he replies.

“Wow,” Téa starts, “Who knew that Bakura would be such the hero?”

“Ehh,” the white-haired boy answers in an unsure tone.

Tristan comes barging into the room, “Hey, guys! What’s the deal with Kaiba? He seems to been in an extra foul mood today?”

Guilt flushes into Michelle’s cheeks, knowing that it has something to do with her.

“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Bakura says, placing a hand on the girl’s shoulder.

She looks up at him, giving the boy a shy smile of gratitude.

“Yeah,” the others say in unison.

Yugi continues, “He’s not really a bad guy, once you get to know him.”

“I hope that’s the case…” Michelle mumbles.

The bell rings again and the students begin to return back to class, taking their seats and gathering their books and journals for the next subject. Yugi and the rest of the gang go back to their desks after informing the new girl what to expect until lunch. Michelle nods, then turns around to her own spot. The desk behind her is still empty.

_ Kaiba hasn’t come back, yet,  _ she sighs, practically relieved. Bakura sits down in the desk beside her, which was empty last period. Still feeling nervous, she gives him a small smile, then quickly looks down at her things.

Michelle starts rubbing around the golden bracelet, hidden underneath her pink sleeve, trying to soothe the odd tingling in her wrist. She rubs harder, the fabric burning her skin, but the sensation won’t go away. Glancing over to her neighbor, she sees Bakura watching her curiously. Feeling embarrassed, she shares a sheepish smile, then looks around at the other students to see if they notice. Yugi peeks over his shoulder, most likely just to check up on her.

The tingling intensifies and the bracelet grows hot against her skin. Michelle clenches her teeth,  _ What the hell is going on? How is my bracelet doing this?  _ Glancing back over to Bakura, she sees a faint glow emanating from the boy’s chest. Her brows knit together, confused, and observes his face. He is staring at his own desk, grimacing slightly.

She shifts her eyes, quickly to her hands, then peeks from the corner of her eye back to him. The glow is gone and his expression is back to calm and peaceful.

“What?” she whispers, furrowing her brows.  _ Are my eyes playing tricks on me? _

Bakura leans over to Michelle and whispers, “Are you feeling alright?”

She sharply inhales, as if caught red-handed, “Uh, um… I’m fine.” She looks up to the front of the room. The teacher still hasn’t come into the room. Sighing, Michelle drags out her history book and opens it to the pages her friends had told her.

“Hah,” she quietly laughs to herself.  _ How ironic. _ The text is written about ancient Egypt, something Michelle is very familiar with.

As she quietly reads the material, images flicker into her mind. A vast landscape of desert. A small village of people. A large kingdom full of soldiers and royalty. Pyramids. Monsters. Death.

She jerks back suddenly from her trance, her face white and breathing heavy as her heart races in her chest.  _ What just happened? _

Bakura gently places a hand on hers, the look of concern written on his face, “What’s wrong, Michelle?”

“I, um…” she swallows, trying to calm herself. Her eyes slowly rise to look at the white-haired boy. More images flash before her. Bloody bodies collapsing with fire burning in the background. She gasps, pulling her hand away quickly. She swallows again, then stands up from her chair. “I need to go.”

Bakura stares at her, obviously troubled by her actions, then looks over to Yugi in the gang when the girl bails.

Yugi’s face is full of shock and curiosity, while Téa immediately gets up to follow her.

Joey turns to Bakura, “What was that all about?”

Baffled, he replies, “I don’t really know. She was reading her book, but I think she fell asleep. Next thing I know, she jumps back in her seat as if she had a bad dream.”

“Do you think she’ll be alright?” Tristan asks to know one specifically.

“Your little friend probably got overwhelmed by her little transfer from America,” Kaiba mocks from his seat.

“What’s your problem?!” Joey barks, “You don’t even know Michelle.”

“Even so,” Yugi sighs, “Téa is with her. I’m sure she’ll be okay.”

Téa hurries to catch up to the girl. “Michelle, wait up!” Once she reaches her side, Téa stops her to ask what happened. “What’s wrong? What happened back there?”

Michelle avoids looking into Téa’s eyes. “I just,” she starts, contemplating what to say, but settles with, “Where is the bathroom?”

Taken aback, Téa points down the hall. Michelle follows the direction of her finger, then stalks down the hall to the restroom. Téa follows, curious as to what is really going on and how she can help.

Michelle pushes the restroom door open and walks in. Finding her way to the sink, she turns the faucet on to cold. She looks into the mirror, her face a ghastly shade, then fills the palms of her hands with water and splashes the cool liquid into her face. Téa observes quietly.

After splashing her face a couple of more times, Michelle turns the water off and braces her hands on the sides of the sink, staring into the mirror, thoughtfully. Taking a deep breath, she shifts her eyes to the reflection of her friend standing off to the side. “Sorry if I scared you,” Michelle mumbles.

Téa steps forward and drops her hand on Michelle’s shoulder, “What’s going on? You can talk to me about anything.”

She stands there, still leaning over the sink, and quietly stares into the girls worried, brown eyes. After a moment of silence, Michelle sighs. She runs a hand through her hair, thoughtfully, and turns around, Téa’s hand dropping from the motion. Leaning back onto the sink with her bottom, Michelle finally begins to speak.

“I have dreams… No. It’s more than that,” she lightly laughs, “I have chronic nightmares.”

Téa’s expression becomes more sympathetic, “Chronic nightmares? That has to be difficult.”

“Eh,” Michelle shrugs, “I’ve had them since I was little, so it’s nothing new. In fact, I hadn’t had really bad dreams in a long time. But here recently…” she trails off, thinking of the nightmares she had over the weekend. “They’ve started up again.”

Téa touches the knuckle of her index finger onto her lip, thoughtfully.

There is a pulse coming from Michelle’s arm. She unbuttons her sleeve and reveals the golden scarab with its wings wrapped around wrist, “And to top things off, this thing has been acting strange!” She outbursts in frustration.

“What do you mean?” Téa asks, not understanding.

Michelle suddenly gasps, realizing that she actually just said that out loud.  _ That last part wasn’t suppose to come out... _

“It’s okay, we’re friends now. You can tell me,” the girl encourages.

For a second, she grimaces, feeling like she’s betraying herself.  _ She’ll probably think I’m crazy and that I need to be thrown into a padded cell in an insane asylum _ , Michelle’s thoughts mock. She looks away, lazily crossing her arms over her chest and pondering what to say. Téa waits patiently, leaning against another sink.

“Tell me something,” Michelle starts, keeping her eyes averted. “Will you judge me? For what I’m about to say?”

Téa’s mouth opens to respond, but Michelle continues speaking before any words can escape her lips.

“What is your opinion of the supernatural?” she asks in a demanding tone.

Michelle’s emerald green eyes locked onto Téa’s surprised brown ones, as if she was the one placing judgement on her. Téa, at a loss for words, continues to stare at the new girl in silence.

“Hmph,” Michelle turns away, “I thought as much… There’s really no point in saying anything then.” She steps away from the bathroom sink and starts heading for the door.

“Wait,” Téa stops her, “if this is about the bracelet, I really think that we should talk to Yugi about it.”

Michelle turns around and looks at her friend quizzically, “You mean… Yugi might know something about what’s going on?”

“Mmm,” the girl fidgets, “maybe.” Her expression quickly changes and she now appears more confident, “During lunch, let’s all meet up on the roof. That’s usually where we hang out during our breaks.”

“Uh,” Michelle raises an eyebrow, “okay.”

With a determined nod, Téa says, “It’s settled. Until then, let’s get back to class.”

“Yeah,” she replies, opening the door out into the hallway, “We’ve been in here for awhile.”

Once the girls enter the classroom, Michelle notices that the teacher still hasn’t shown.  _ Hm, they must be gone today, _ she wonders before making her way to the desk in front of Kaiba.

He glances up from the book he’s reading and watches her quietly take her seat. “You know, you seem to fit in real well with that bunch dweebs,” he sighs mockingly, then returns to his book.

Glaring back at him, she turns around to face him, and casually snatches the book from his hands. She flips through the pages as she sarcastically says, “Awe. It sounds like someone is a bit jealous.” Meeting his annoyed expression with a playfully, mocking one of her own, she continues, “Would it help if I talked to them into letting you join?”

“Please,” he groans with displeasure, then leans forward, “I could care less about joining that group of losers.” He reaches for the book and takes it from her hands.

“Hmph,” she shrugs, then gives him a cold glare, “Then maybe you should mind your own business.”

For a second, her words seem to take him by surprise, but a smug smile forms as he leans back in his chair, “Fair enough.”

Michelle spins around in her chair, feeling satisfied, and scans the students baffled expressions.

“Did that really just happen?” Téa whispers to her friends.

“Heh heh,” Joey chuckles, “putting Rich Boy in his place. That’s my kinda gal.”

Michelle’s cheeks turn pink from all the attention everyone was giving; she almost regrets confronting Kaiba the way she did.

 

******

*Lunch Break; Rooftop*

Téa and Michelle sit next to the fence, picking at the food within their bento boxes before stuffing their faces with rice and octopus sausage. Joey comes out of the door from inside the school, chugging a juice he bought from a vending machine on the first floor of the school. Tristan, following close behind his blond-haired friend, throws himself onto Joey’s shoulders, initiating their typical horseplay. Yugi emerges from the doorway, laughing at the boys’ immaturity. Glancing over to the girls, he waves and joins them by the fence.

“Hi, Téa. Hi, Michelle,” he says, sitting next to them.

“Hey,” Michelle leans forward to peer around the brunette, flicking her hand in a slight wave.

Yugi pulls out his bento box and prepares to eat his lunch when Téa brings up what happened during class. 

“So, Yugi? Earlier, when Michelle and I left the room, we were talking…”

“Oh yeah?” The small boy inquires, taking a bite of his fried rice. “What about?” He glances over to Michelle, who looked away towards the wrestling teens.

“Well,” Téa sighs, her blue eyes asking permission from the girl beside her. “She was wondering about the supernatural. For example, if we believe it.”

Yugi drops his hand down slowly, thoughtfully. “I can’t say that I don’t believe in it.” He glances down to the pendant hanging from his neck, “For example, ever since I’ve put the Millennium puzzle together, strange things have happened and many people have been trying to steal my puzzle for the power they say it holds.”

“Power? So that pendant isn’t just a simple artifact?” Michelle questions, crawling around Téa to sit in front of them.

Yugi, dumbfounded, blinks twice at her intrigued interest.

“Go on,” she urges, “Tell me more.” Her face turns pink and she quickly gives a deep bow on the roof floor, “I apologize. It's just that,” she lifts her head back up, “I haven't met anyone who actually has experienced something unnatural.” Michelle pulls the sleeve back to reveal the winged scarab bracelet and raises it in the boy’s direction and continues, “You see, I know I've told you about how I found this in Egypt when I was young. But…” She pulls her hand close to her chest and looks away, feeling embarrassed with everyone's eyes on her.

“Whatever ya wanna say, just tell us. We’ve seen enough crazy stuff lately that it couldn’t be that surprising,” Joey encourages, dropping down next to her and Yugi.

Tristan sits down on the other side of the girl, “Yeah. Between what happened at Duelist Kingdom and Kaiba’s Virtual Reality world that Yugi, Joey, and Kaiba got trapped in, I’m sure this is nothing.”

“What happened in Duelist Kingdom?” She inquires, scanning the group's little circle.

“Well,” Tristan replies, scratching the back of his head thoughtfully.

“My grandpa’s soul was taken by Pegasus,” Yugi explains, straight to the point.

Michelle furrows her brows, wondering if she heard him right?

Yugi continues, seeing the girl’s expression, “You see, like me, Pegasus also has a Millennium Item. The Millennium Eye. With it, he has the power to look into a person’s mind in order to know what they are thinking. It also gives him the ability to steal souls; that’s how he took my grandpa’s after I lost our first duel.”

“Is your grandpa alright?!” Michelle presses with concern.

The boy smiles, “He’s fine now. I was able to defeat Pegasus in a duel and saved not only Grandpa’s soul, but the Kaiba brothers’ souls as well.”

“Wow,” she gasps. “So even Kaiba became victim to that guy as well.”

“Yeah,” Téa comments. “But he still tries to pick fights with us after Yugi saved both of them. Talk about being grateful…” She adds with sarcasm.

“Well,” Michelle looks back down to her wrist, the gold of her bracelet glistening in the sunlight, “I haven’t been able to witness anything of that nature, but have been experience some crazy things with this.” Sighing she continues, “Lately, for some reason, the bracelet either burns me because it becomes so hot or it will vibrate. It’s strange… And my dreams have become more peculiar. Normally, I don’t remember much when I wake up, but recently, they’ve been focused in Egypt and I’m surrounded by death and monsters.”

“Death and monsters?” Tristan repeats, turning the phrase into a question.

“Sounds pretty dark if ya ask me,” Joey says.

“Yeah, well,” Michelle shrugs.

“I wonder why,” Yugi says, glancing down at the puzzle in his hands.

She sighs, “I wish I knew.”

“Hey,” Téa perks up, “Do you think the other Yugi might have an idea.”

“Other Yugi?” Michelle mumbles.

The other girl continues, “Since your puzzle and her bracelet both originate from Egypt, do you think the spirit may know something about it?”

_ Spirit? _

“She's right, Yug,” Joey nods, placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder.

“So what does the big guy know?” Tristan chimes.

Yugi glances around at everyone, all eyes on him. “Well,” he starts, “he says that Michelle’s bracelet looks very familiar, but other than that, he doesn’t know much about it.”

“I wonder if Gramps knows anything,” Joey comments.

“I don’t know,” Yugi replies, eyes widening, “but that’s a good idea, Joey.” Focusing on Michelle, the says, “Why don’t you come over to my place and we can ask my Grandpa if he knows anything about your bracelet. He used to travel to Egypt when he was younger, so he may know some of it’s history.”

Michelle, both confused and excited, nods in response, “I’d like that.”

“Alright,” Joey and Tristan cheer in unison, followed by an awkward laugh with each other.

The door leading back inside opens and Bakura steps out onto the roof. “Hey, guys! What are you guys doing?” The white haired boy inquires, joining the gangs little circle.

“Oh, hey, Bakura,” Tristan greets.

“We were just talking a little bit about Duelist Kingdom and Michelle’s bracelet,” Yugi explains.

Bakura’s eyes shift to the golden band reflecting the sunlight in the girl’s lap, “I see. It’s very nice, Michelle. Is it from Egypt?”

“Uh, yeah,” she swallows, suddenly feeling nervous. “And thanks.”

“Your welcome,” he smiles.

Téa tries to invite the boy in their after-school plans, “We’re going over to Yugi’s game shop, if you want to come with us. We’re going to see if he knows anything about Michelle’s bracelet.”

“I would, but unfortunately, I already have plans after school,” he politely declines, “but I hope you find the answers you are looking for,” he adds.

“Thank you. I hope I do too,” Michelle replies, turning her attention back down to the ancient jewelry embracing her wrist.

******

Once the gang gather around the lockers after doing their part in cleaning the school, Michelle pulls out her phone and sends a quick text to Riko, informing her that she was walking with her friends to Yugi’s place. Within a few minutes, she gets a reply in approval to the plans, then the teen slips the phone into her bag. 

“Okay, guys. I’m ready,” she calls, hitching the bag over her shoulder.

Joey and Tristan finish pulling the back of their shoes on and meet up to the two waiting girls and Yugi.

“Alright,” Tristan huffs, his heavy backpack hugging his back. “Let’s go.”

“Yeah,” Joey pumps his fist in the air and charges out of the front doors, “And maybe Gramps will let us order pizza!”

“Sounds good to me!” Tristan calls out as he follows his buddy outside.

Yugi turns to the girls with a light chuckle, “Well, I guess we better hurry or we’ll be left behind.”

“When it comes to food, there’s no stopping them, is there?” Michelle jokes.

“Nope,” Yugi and Téa agree with amused smiles plastered on their faces.

“Niiice,” she grins, trailing closely behind the two as they exit the school.

As they all walk through the city to Yugi’s place, Michelle starts to get the feeling of deja vu. Streets begin to feel familiar and the buildings she passes by make her wonder if she’s seen them before, knowing she hasn’t walked in this area of town yet. Over a few minutes, the sky has darkened with an overcast of gray clouds, threatening to drop rain over the city.

She bites the corner of her bottom lip to hide her growing anxiety,  _ Why do I feel like I’ve been here? _

Unaware of the faint glowing in her sleeve, Michelle continues to walk silently, listening to the others talk and goof around. Once they approach a small two story building, she looks up at the large sign looming overhead.

_ Kame Game. _

Her breath catches in her throat and she takes a step back, her expression stunned.

“Are you coming?” Yugi asks, an eyebrow raised.

Michelle gulps, then glances down to her friends who are giving her strange expressions. “I… um…” she utters, shifting her eyes back to the building.  _ This place… It’s the one from my nightmares… _

“Come on, Michelle,” Joey says, opening the door to the shop. “It looks like it’s about to rain.”

She slowing begins to shake her head. Images from the dream flickering in her mind. “I-I think I’ll pass,” she backs away. The sounds of bone crushing and men screaming in agony echo in her ears.  _ I know it was just a dream, but it felt to real.  _ She clutches to the fabric over her chest, panic making her heart race. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow!” Michelle says with a quick bow before dashing off in the other direction.


	4. Chapter 3: Masked by Kindness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes: Chapter 3 is finally here! Whoooo! A year and 4 months later and it finally is posted. You don't know how excited I am to finally post the next chapter. And I also want to give a HUGE thanks to Ataahua for being my beta for this chapter. She was a huge help. Also, you guys should check out her stories, as well as the stories that she co-authors with The Duelist's Heiress. You can find the co-authored stories under the account MManipulative33. (These Usernames are from fanfiction.net) Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. I would love to hear your thoughts on the story, so don't forget to review. ^_^ And I promise the next chapter won't take a year to post. XD
> 
> So for those who haven't read the story in awhile, the protagonist recently left school and was suppose to go to Yugi's with the gang and ask Grandpa if he knew anything about the bracelet she wears. But when she arrived at the game shop, she noticed several similarities to a nightmare she had during the weekend. Because of this, she freaked out and ran off.

 

Michelle's pace drastically slows to a pathetic speed as she regrets taking off so abruptly from her friends.

"What was I thinking?!" she puffs, pulling her fingers through her hair and throwing her head back in frustration. "All over a stupid nightmare…"

Opening her eyes and examining the dark clouds above, random drops of rain plop onto her face. After a moment of letting water cool her flushed cheeks, she relieves a heavy sigh and takes in her surroundings.

People are walking past her on the sidewalk, hardly anyone noticing that she is standing in the middle of the path. Buildings and shops line the streets, lights glowing in the gloomy atmosphere. As the rain begins to sprinkle more, a woman pulls up her jacket to cover her head while hurrying to the cafe nearby.

Several yards up ahead, Michelle glimpses familiar white hair turning the corner. She jogs in that direction, her shoulders aching beneath the hefty weight of her bag. Turning the corner, she halts to a stop, doubling over with her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.

"Ba… Bakura," she huffs, "I caught up to you." She swallows, lifting her eyes up from the ground to meet his surprised gaze.

"Michelle, what are you doing here?" he asks, turning towards her. "I thought you were going to be with Yugi at the game shop?"

Michelle's cheeks flush with embarrassment. Straightening, she smiles awkwardly. "Uh, yeah, well… I decided I'd go another day."

He raises an eyebrow at her excuse.

"Eh," she starts, "I'd rather not talk about it. It's just me being me, ya know?" She nervously chuckles,  _I'm making a complete fool of myself._

Bakura smiles. "Oh, I see."

Michelle lets out a sigh of relief, then the rain changes from a light sprinkle to a heavy downpour, drenching them both within seconds.

Bakura opens the door beside him. "Would you like to come in?"

Michelle nods and rushes in. She follows the boy quietly through the halls to an elevator and he presses the button on the wall. Doors open nearby and the two teens stride into the steel cart. Bakura then presses the 6 on the keypad, signalling the sliding doors to shut and the elevator to rise.

He can't help but notice the girl fidget with the diamond studs in her right ear and the way her cheeks stay rosy. Once he realizes that he's staring at her, Bakura quickly focuses on the changing numbers of the machine. Clearing his throat, he attempts to break the awkward silence. "It's been awhile since I've had any company over."

She drops her hand away from the studs and turns her attention to him. "Really?"

"Yeah. Yugi and the others came by once, back when I first transferred here. But since then, It's only been me."

"Oh?" Michelle raises a brow. The elevator comes to a stop and the doors slide open. Bakura steps out and Michelle follows. "What about your parents? And I take it you don't have any siblings?"

He leads her to a nearby door with the number 601 posted to the upper left, as well as the name 'Bakura'. He unlocks the door and opens it, inviting her in. "I had a sister once… but she passed a long time ago, as did my mother. And my father," he pauses, "well, he owns the Domino City Museum."

"I'm sorry to hear that about your mom and sister. That has to be painful."

"It's alright." He tries to reassure her in the form of a sad smile. "It was a long time ago."

They take their shoes off by the door and set them aside.

"Is it okay if I leave my bag here?" the girl asks, "It's soaked and I don't want to track in anymore water."

"Sure. Go right ahead." He watches as she drops the bag on the floor next to the cabinet. "Help yourself to those slippers. They're for guests."

"Oh." Her eyes fall to the slippers placed on the step. "Okay, thank you." She slips them on, then walks out into the open room.

"Let me go grab you a towel. And uhh…" His eyes sift over her soaked self. "Oh dear, you're completely soaked. Would you, erm…" His cheeks flush pale pink. "Would you like to borrow some dry clothes?"

Michelle glances down at herself. "Uh… I think a towel will do fine, thanks. I don't plan on staying for too long, anyway."

"Alright," he says with a smile, "I'll be back in a minute. Feel free to look around." With that being said, Bakura disappears into another room to change.

Michelle glances along the large cabinets that line the walls, seeing that they end at a desk in front of the only window. Inside the glass cabinets, small figurines fill the shelves from left to right.

She examines the room in total awe. "Wow. Look at all the monsters and people…"

Bakura returns, wearing fresh clothes, and hands her a dry, white towel. "Here." With his other hand behind his head and his eyes averted, he adds, "If you change your mind, let me know and I'll go grab a pair of dry clothes for you."

"Thank you." She takes the towel from him gratefully and wraps it around her shoulders. Turning back to the display on the shelves, she inquires, "Are you a collector of some sort?"

He grins with pride. "Yes. I'm a huge fan of Monster World."

"Monster World?"

"It's a game that combines role playing with board games. If you're interested, I can show you the field I play it on. It's in the game room."

"Wow, you have a game room?" she asks, excitedly.

Smiling, he replies, "Yes." He, then, leads her into another room.

Following him inside, Michelle's face lights up as she spots a large table to the left filled with a scenic landscape of trees and buildings.

"This is the Monster World's Battlefield." He flips through a stack of papers that lay next to the laptop at the end of the table. "Filling out the character sheets and entering them into the computer, you can create your own character and then you use two ten-sided dice to determine your attacks and abilities. It's a very simple game once you get started. I've played one on one, but I think it's more fun to play with a group."

"Nice," Michelle says, examining the field, "I'd definitely like to play sometime." She glances over to her right and sees another set of shelves with figurines. On the top of one, there is a diorama of the game with figurines that resemble Yugi and the gang . "Did the others play this game with you?"

"You're observant. Yes, they did. Yugi was the first one to beat me. Since then, I haven't played."

Michelle glances over at him, unsure of whether or not she caught a dark tone in his voice. It's only for a second, but she swore she saw a glint of anger in his eyes. And the familiarity of the tone bothers her, as well. She can't put her finger on why. Tugging the towel tighter around her shoulders, she changes the subject. "What other games do you have?"

He scans the room thoughtfully. "I do have my own deck of Duel Monsters cards. Also I have other cards and board games that are put away. If you want to see them, they're in this drawer over here." He crouches down to the drawers of the cabinet of figurines, pulling out a couple of the different games and decks of cards.

Bakura watches as she kneels down beside him and sifts through the different choices, her hair now partially dry. She shivers for a second, probably from being out in the rain. "Are you cold? I can make some warm tea, if you'd like," he offers politely.

The girl looks up at him, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "Sure, if you don't mind."

"It's not a problem, really," he says, standing up. "I'll be right back. You're more than welcome to look around." With that, he leaves her in the room alone.

_What are you doing? Making the girl feel like she's home?_ A dark voice mocks.

Bakura grips the edge of the counter, his fingers turning white. "Stop trying to interfere. I thought you were gone," he hisses, trying to not draw his guest's attention from the other room. "And I'm not going to let you take over my body." He struggles to compose himself while filling the kettle with water and placing it on the stove.

_You don't have the power to stop me, you foolish host. You can either get rid of her, or I will,_ the voice warns.

"But it's pouring rain outside; I'm not going to make her walk home in it," he retorts.

The voice scoffs,  _You surprise me, Ryou. If it were Yugi or his pathetic friends, you would be quick to make them leave in order to protect them._

"Stay out of it, Spirit," he barks through clenched teeth. "Why won't you leave me alone? I just want a normal life."

_Because I still have unfinished business to take care of and I can't finish it without a host,_  the dark spirit explains.  _Now to get rid of your new friend. We don't need any new obstacles getting in the way of my victory._

Ryou clenches at the sides of his head, fighting off the evil spirit within him. "Leave. Her. Alone," he grunts in pain.

"Bakura?"

The pain instantly stops and he looks up to Michelle, who is standing by the door.

"Are you alright?" she asks, concern written all over her face.

The boy turns away from her. "Yes, I'm fine. It was just a headache. But it's gone now," he lies.

"Hmm," she purses her lips, doubtful. "Alright then?" Her words sound more like a question. When he stays silent, however, a soft sigh leaves her lips. "If you need anything, let me know. I don't mind helping. Besides, at home, I can make a mean batch of sweet tea," she winks while throwing a finger gun his way.

"Yes, thank you." He forces a smile. "But I'm fine. Really. I'll be in there in just a moment."

"Okay." She slowly closes the door behind her, returning to the game room.

With her presence gone, he can hear the spirit laughing again with amusement and malice.

You can't hold me back for long.

Ryou clenches his fist, trying to suppress the spirit's influence on him. "Go away," he demands.

There is silence now.

He lets out a heavy sigh of relief, then prepares the glasses of tea before stepping back into the game room. "Maybe I shouldn't have invited her in…" He tries to shake the thought away before opening the door, the regret and concern gnawing his insides.

Michelle is sitting on the long, white couch, with the towel folded underneath her bottom, looking through some Duel Monster cards she found on the nearby desk. She looks up to meet his eyes and smiles. "Sorry, found your deck." Turning her attention back to the cards, she adds, "Your deck is full of really dark and creepy monsters. Nothing that I really expected."

"Why is that?" he asks, sitting next to the girl on the couch and handing her a glass.

"Well." She takes the drink from his outstretched hand. "Thank you… You just seem so gentle. Although, I find you very mysterious..." Her voice trails off at the end.

Ryou can hear laughter echo in his mind from the spirit of his millennium ring.

"I mean it as a compliment," Michelle says, feeling a little embarrassed. "But I do think your cards are pretty cool. I have a deck of my own, but I'm not a very experienced duelist. I don't think I could make it very far in a tournament if there was one," she nervously laughs.

"Do you have your cards with you?" the boy inquires. "I could take a look at them if that is alright."

"Yeah, they're in my bag," she replies. "I'll go grab them."

Michelle hurries into the main room and kneels on the floor next to her backpack. As she reaches down to unzip one of the side pockets, she notices the shine of her bracelet barely peeking out from beneath the sleeve. She pauses for a moment, but quickly brushes off the thought and continues with digging in her bag and grabbing the plain black box of Duel Monster cards. She sighs with relief that they stayed dry. Then, she heads back to the game room, nerves and excitement rushing through her body.

Back on the couch, Michelle pulls open the flap of the case and pulls out the cards. Extending her hand out, she hands the cards to Bakura, letting him shuffle through the deck.

She watches as his brown eyes scan over the various cards within her deck and she notices a longer pause on one of the monsters:  _The Shadow Tamer._

"I know it's not a very strong monster, but it is very precious to me," Michelle explains.

"There's nothing wrong with favoring a weaker monster," Bakura replies. "As long as you play your cards right, the monster's effect can be very useful."

The girl nods, a sigh unconsciously escaping her lips.

Bakura looks up at her thoughtfully. "What is it, Michelle?"

Her cheeks turn pink as she realizes what happened. She couldn't help but think about how she gained the card in the first place. Cursing herself for being too easy to read, she brushes it off with a smile. "Oh, it's nothing... So! How about it? Would you like to duel one game just for fun?"

Bakura glances to the window. The rain has subsided a little outside since he's been home, but the sky has grown dark with clouds and the setting sun. "Are you sure it's okay for you to still be here? It's getting rather late…"

Michelle sighs, slouching back into the cushions. "Right now, my brother and sister-in-law think that I'm over at Yugi's place. I forgot to tell them I ended up not going. But…" She pauses, the images from her nightmare replaying in her head.

"What is it?" Bakura inquires, patiently waiting for an answer of some sort.

She ponders on the idea of telling him why she didn't stay with the gang, but changes her mind.  _It's not important._ She glances back up at him, innocent emerald eyes playfully pleading him to give in. For some reason, she doesn't want to go home yet.

Bakura submits. "Alright. But only one game."

Michelle's face brightens, and she snatches his deck from the desk again and proceeds to shuffle it. While she's busy doing that, he gets up and retrieves the Duel Monsters' Field mat and lays it out on the small table, then picks up her deck that he sat aside and proceeds to shuffle it as well before handing it back.

Once the field is set with the decks in their place, they both draw the top five cards to start off with, then agree to have a coin toss to see who goes first.

Michelle calls heads, leaving Bakura with tails. The quarter flips in the air, then lands back into the girl's palm. She slaps it onto the back of her other hand and reveals the eagle engraving of the coin. "Looks like you go first," she states, grateful that it's not her.

"Alright. We'll both start off with 2000 Life Points." He skims over his hand. "I place one monster face down and end my turn." His brown eyes shift up to hers, waiting for her first move.

She draws.  _Ancient Elf. Level 4. ATK/1450. DEF/1200._ In Michelle's hand, there are three monsters, including the one she drew, two spell cards, and a trap card. "Hm," the girl starts, "I play Ancient Elf in Attack mode and set two cards face down." Once the cards are placed on the field, she continues, "I attack your face down card."

Bakura flips his monster over to reveal  _Man-Eater Bug._   _DEF/600._ "My monster's effect activates," he announces, "Your monster is destroyed and sent to the graveyard."

Michelle's brows cross with unpleasant surprise and both players place their monsters into the graveyard zone. Lifting the corner of her mouth in thought, she glances over her cards one last time. "Okay, I end my turn," Michelle states, showing a slight grimace over her lack of defense.

The boy draws a card, then places a different one onto the field. "I play Headless Knight in attack mode, then I place a card face down." After he lays the card in the Spell and Trap Zone, he continues, "Now, I attack your life points directly."

Michelle's lips curve into a devious smile, "You've fallen for my trap." She swiftly flips one of her face down cards over. "I activate  _Attack and Receive_. When you attack my life points directly, this card reduces your life points by 700."

Bakura smiles. "Well played, but you'll have to do better than that. You only have 550 life points left and no monsters on the field."

"Hmph! This game has only started," she teases. "Now, are you ready for me to wipe out the rest of your life points?"

Amused by the girl's confidence, he replies, "Very well, I end my turn. We'll see how long this duel lasts."

Michelle draws. Biting the corning of her lip, she scans over her cards.  _Let's see… I can use Shield Spear to strengthen my monster's attack and defense._ "I place this card face down." She continues, pulling a normal monster from her hand, "I play  _Grand Tiki Elder_ in attack mode. Using my monster, I destroy your  _Headless Knight_  and reduce your life points to 1250."

The corner of her mouth tugs to the side as she ponders about his face-down card.  _Is it a trap? A spell? Hmm… Whatever it is, thank god he didn't activate it._

It's Bakura's turn now. After he draws, he places a monster card face down on his side of the field, then ends his turn.

Michelle takes the top card from her deck.  _Perfect_ , she smiles,  _just the card I needed._ She places  _Fire Princess (ATK/1300; DEF/1500)_  on the field in face-up defense mode, then proceeds to attack his face down monster with  _Grand Tiki Elder._

He smirks, flipping the defending monster over. "You've activated my monster's effect. Since your monster isn't a Zombie-Type,  _Grand Tiki Elder_  cannot attack on your next turn." He then promptly places the destroyed  _Electric Lizard_ into his Graveyard.

Gritting her teeth, she scans over her side of the field, as well as her hand, then ends her turn.

Bakura, wearing a conceited smile, draws a new card. Glancing over his hand, the boy chooses one and places it on the field. "I play a monster face down. And I set..." He pulls another from his hand. "This card." Placing his attention back on the girl, he grins. "I end my turn."

Michelle observes his expression, the smirk on him lips seem more smug than before.

"Don't forget, your monster won't be able to attack this turn," he reminds, his voice more devious than before.

Her brows pull together with curiosity. Drawing a card, she purses her lips in thought. "I may not be able to attack using my  _Elder_ , right now, but I do have this." She flips over one of her face down cards. "I reveal my spell card,  _Goblin Thief_!"

Bakura's amused expression disappears immediately.

" _Goblin Thief_ decreases your life points by 500, then adds those points to mine," she explains, "This causes  _Fire Princess_ 's effect to activate, taking an additional 500 points. That's a total of 1000 LP; leaving you at 250 Life Points, while I have a whopping 1050 Life Points." Michelle places one card face down on the field, then continues, "I switch  _Fire Princess_  into attack mode, then attack your face down monster." She gives him a playful glare. "It better not be another bug."

Bakura chuckles, "If you're relying on the cards in your hand, then it's much worse." He flips over the card, " _Morphing Jar_ 's effect activates. Both players must discard their hands, then draw five new cards."

"Tch!" Michelle collects a new hand.  _I knew I should have played that monster,_  she growls at herself, frustrated with her mistake. "I end my turn."

"Haha! Now, it's my turn." He draws a card, then places another face down in defense. Then his hand moves over to one of his previously set cards. Michelle grimaces in anticipation of what he has in store for her. "I play my trap card,  _Just Desserts_. For each monster my opponent controls, 500 Life Points are deducted. And since you have two monsters on the field, you lose 1000 points."

A chill runs down her spine, creating goosebumps on her arms. Even though she is wearing long sleeves, Michelle feels cold. It's as if the atmosphere around her dropped several degrees suddenly.

She runs her hands up and down her arms, shivering slightly. "Is it freezing in here to you?"

Bakura cocks his head, his white locks swaying slightly at the movement. "Yes." He's suddenly blunt. "It has become rather cold in here… hasn't it?" A ghost of a smirk quirks his lips, though she fails to notice as she searches for the hot tea he'd brewed for her earlier.

Michelle finds it nearby, a relieved sigh leaving her lips as its warmth heats her palms. She takes a sip, that same warmth flowing quickly down her throat to her core.  _I'm not dreaming, again, am I?_  She attempts to shake the thought off, then returns her focus back to the game. "I'm sorry," she says, "Where were we?"

"We were just at the part where I win this duel," he gloats.

Taken aback, Michelle's brows furrow.  _This isn't Bakura_ , she tells herself.  _I have to be dreaming._

Bakura laughs, amused by the confusion and alarm written all over her face. "What's the matter, Michelle? Are you afraid of the shadows?"

Her face pales.  _That phrase. The darkness in his voice._ She looks over to her left, then her right. Strange shadows surround her in every direction. "What?" She stares back into Bakura's eyes and gulps."Y-you're not –."

"Ryou!" A hesitant voice calls from the next room, breaking the tension. The shadows disperse, immediately. Then the door opens, revealing a broad, older man with white hair and round glasses wearing a brown suit. He stands frozen at the door, staring at the pair crouched down by the table.

"F-father?" Bakura's voice falters in surprise. He seems himself again.

The temperature in the room reverts back to normal. Either that, or it never had changed in the first place, though Michelle can't figure out which is true.  _Was my mind just playing tricks on me?_

"I thought I would come see you for a little bit. I-it's been awhile since we've spent any time together," the man says, his face somewhat pale. "But I see you have a friend over."

Bakura and Michelle glance at each other, their cheeks turning pink from embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Father. This is Michelle, a friend of mine from school. It was raining pretty hard earlier, so I invited her in until it lightened up."

Still feeling uneasy from what had happened during the duel, Michelle peeks over to the window. The rain seems to have stopped by now. She pretends to look for a clock. "What time is it? I should probably go. I don't want my brother to worry about me." Gathering her cards from the table, Michelle drops them shakily into the case she brought them in.

"Do you need me to walk you home?" Bakura offers, concern written on his face. She pauses for a second, her eyes shifting between him and his father. "No, I don't want to interfere with your time with your father. I don't live too far away from here. I'll manage. Thanks, though." She walks with haste to the door where the older gentleman is standing. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Sir," she bows with respect.

"The pleasure is mine. I apologize for interrupting your game."

Michelle shrugs, playing it off. "It's alright. It was getting kind of late, anyway." Glancing back to the boy, she gives a quick wave. "See you later, Bakura." She, then, rushes out of the room.

At the front door, she swaps out the slippers for her shoes, cringing as her feet squelch into their soggy soles. Then, she shoves her deck into her bag, snatches it off the floor, and dashes out of the apartment to the elevator.

"Come on. Come on. Come ON," Michelle breathes, desperately tapping the down button as she spares anxious glances down the hallway. After about a minute, the machine finally slides open.

She rushes in, unable to shake her anxiety. Her hands quake as she jabs at the 1 on the wall, the same phrase repeating rapidly in her head.  _That's not Bakura._ The doors slide shut and the elevator descends achingly slow. As soon as she feels the wave of the cart's halt, Michelle prepares herself and barges out of the building as quickly as possible, receiving odd expressions from occupants as she rushes by.

Outside of the building, she heaves over as if she had been sprinting in a race and just past the finish line, fighting back the bile that threatens to erupt. The light rain feels like ice as it drips upon her lower back and arms.

She tries to get her breathing back in check, slowly but surely. Throwing her bag to the ground, she shuffles through its compartments violently, searching for the bottle. "Where is it?" She groans, unzipping pockets and shoving papers out of the way. Without success, she closes the bag harshly and steps away from it with hand one hand clasped over her mouth. Her eyes search desperately for a trash can.

In that moment, a long, black car pulls up next to her, the sloshing of water grabbing her attention as the tires roll to a stop on the saturated street. A dark, tinted window rolls down halfway, and a young boy with long, black hair appears in the opening. "Hey, miss. Do you need a ride?"

Michelle stares at him, surprised, then looks around as if he may have been talking to someone else. But she is the only one standing near the street. She swallows and drops her hand away from her mouth. "Thank you, but I think I'll manage. I'm pretty sure I'm at least a ten or fifteen minute walk from where I need to go," she declines.

"You don't sound very confident in your answer," the boy raises an eyebrow. "You aren't from around here. Where are you staying?"

"The Red Lotus Apartments?" Michelle shrugs, not completely certain if that was the correct name or not.

"Uh, I hate to break it to you," he says, frankly, "but that's not a ten or fifteen minute walk. That's more like thirty minutes or longer, depending on how you get there. Besides, the weather is supposed to get bad soon and we don't mind giving you a ride, if you'd like."

"Thanks, but." A loud crack of lightning dances across the sky, causing her to shriek mid-protest. "Fine," she surrenders, her heart still racing from being startled. She scoops up her bulky bag from the wet ground and throws it over her shoulder, almost knocking herself down in the process.

The boy rolls his window back up and opens the car door for her before disappearing further into the limo. When Michelle approaches the widely ajared opening, she pauses, recognizing a familiar figure sitting next to the now open seat.

"Kaiba?" His name escapes from her mouth before she can stop herself.

His arms lay crossed over his chest and his right leg rests over the left with a large suitcase placed on the floorboard where his foot would have been. He spares a sideways glance in her direction, then continues staring out of the window beside him. "Hurry up. I don't have all day," he says with irritation.

Michelle falters, reluctant to crawl in beside him. "On second thought, I think I'll just walk." She starts to back away, waving regretfully towards the younger boy.

"You want to walk in the storm, then be my guest. But it's a long walk from here," Kaiba comments, his eyes still focused on whatever is out his window. "If I were you, I'd take the offer being handed out to you."

She squeezes tightly to the shoulder strap of her bag. "Fine," she says through clenched teeth. She climbs into the limo. "But just so we're clear, it's only because of the weather."

His blue gaze meets up with her emerald orbs. "My thoughts exactly."

Michelle inhales slightly at the slight tugging of his lips. He's trying not to smile, whether from the snarky comment he made or the fact that her got her to do something she'd rather not do. She turns away from him, speaking under her breath, "Jerk."

The young boy watches the confrontation between them before turning around to call to the driver. "Roland, head to the Red Lotus Apartments."

"Yes, sir," a man replies from the driver's seat.

The car begins to set course down the flooded streets and the boy turns back to the dismayed couple. "Seto may seem like a huge jerk at first, but once you get to know him, you'll see that he's actually a pretty cool guy."

Michelle raises her eyes to the child before peeking over the cold brut. "Maybe… But so far, there doesn't seem to be much hope for that."

The boy shrugs. "Yeah, but my brother has his reasons for that. By the way, my name's Mokuba."

She raises an eyebrow. "Reasons?" Glancing back at Kaiba, she notices how he avoids her questioning eyes. "I…" Realizing what she's doing, she quickly refocuses on Mokuba. "I'm Michelle."

"So where are you from?"

"I transferred here from America through a foreign exchange program. Luckily for me, though, my brother already lives here so I just stay with him instead of living with strangers for a year."

"Oh, yeah. That would be strange to live with someone you don't know."

Michelle shrugs. "Yeah. But how exciting to be in a different country. I get to see new things, make new friends, try new foods."

"Heh," Kaiba scoffs. "It's not that exciting."

Michelle glares daggers into the side of his face. "Negative opinions to yourself, Rich Boy."

"So where in America are you from?" Mokuba presses, ignoring the light bickering between the two.

"Good ol' Oklahoma. It's in the central part of the U.S. And Domino City is a big difference from Tulsa or Oklahoma City. Here would be more like New York City or San Francisco back where I come from."

"Wow. I guess you're right, though. Domino is a really large city. And my big bro and I basically run it!" Mokuba throws his hands behind his head triumphantly.

After a few more minutes of entertaining the boy's questions, Michelle feels the car slow to a stop. She sighs in relief when she looks out the window to find she's given the right address.

"We're here, Master Kaiba," Roland announces to the passengers behind him.

"Awe, that ended fast," Mokuba complains. "I was having fun listening to your stories."

Michelle smiles warmly. "Well I'm glad you appreciated them." She opens the car door and climbs out, dragging her backpack behind her. She turns back to the occupants. "Oh, and thank you for the ride."

"Don't mention it," Mokuba replies, happily.

Kaiba shifts his eyes to her, but says nothing.

Swallowing her pride, she addresses him, "I'll see you tomorrow at school."

"Yeah." He looks back to the window. "Whatever."

Balling her fists, she narrows her eyes at him. "One of these days, I'm going to make you eat those words."

He doesn't hide his amused smirk and raises his hand in a small, dismissive wave before the door is shut and the car pulls away.

Michelle turns on her heel and marches up to her brother's apartment. Before opening the door, she rubs her face harshly. "Ugh, today has truly been an adventure for me. At least my anxiety has settled." She reaches for the handle. But just as her fingers brush the cold metal, the knob turns and the door flies open, followed by a very distraught Jake narrowly plowing into her.

"Where the hell have you been? I called over to the game store to check on you since you wouldn't answer your phone and the owner said you ran off when you got there!"

Her cheeks flushed from embarrassment. "I… I'm sorry. I should have called."

"You're damn right, you should have called! You had us worried sick! You're lucky Mom doesn't find out about this."

"Look, Jake. I'm fine," she retorts. "When I was heading home, it began to rain and so I ended up stopping at another friend's place, who is also one of Yugi's friends. We ended up playing Duel Monsters to pass the time until the rain let up. And afterwards, Kaiba was passing by and offered to take me home."

Jake's brows furrow. "I'm gonna say this once. Don't pull that shit again," he warns, "I'm responsible for your safety. And I'll be damned if something happens to you. You have a mobile phone for a reason." The tall man gestures to her pocket. "Use it."

Michelle salutes her brother, mockingly. "Yes, sir."

He rolls his eyes at his sister's sarcasm, then reaches behind her head with ease and pulls her inside.

"Hey!" The teen barks. "I'm not a little kid, you know!"

Jake ignores her protests. "Dinner is in the fridge. If you're hungry, you'll have to heat it up."

After tossing her drenched bag aside and changing her shoes, she investigates the leftovers. "What did Riko make?"

"Come on," the man complains, "Why do you always expect that she made it? I cook, too, you know."

Michelle peeks past the fridge door and raises a doubtful eyebrow at him, obviously unamused. "If you made it, I might get food poisoning."

Jake clenches his chest dramatically before dropping onto the sofa. "Harsh. How can you be so cold?"

She playfully smiles. "What are little sisters for?"

"Evil ones, maybe."

Michelle returns to rummaging the fridge. "Mm! Teriyaki chicken! The best!" Dragging out the container of leftovers, she prepares herself a plate, then places it in the microwave. "I'm gonna shower real quick, then get my food. Don't touch it," she warns, signalling with her index and middle finger that she's watching him.

"Eh, I already ate. I'll pass this time," he answers nonchalantly as he waves a hand dismissively from the other side of the couch.

"Oh, yeah! Where is Riko?"

"She left for work about an hour ago."

"Oh. That's right. I forgot she starts the night shift at the hospital."

"Yep!" Jake returns, popping the 'p'. He stretches out his long arms, taking over the space around him. "Looks like I get the whole bed to myself for awhile."

Michelle rolls her eyes. "You're such a moron."

"You know it!" He calls back as his sister leaves the room.

* * *

As the night winds down to an end, Michelle lays in the dark, sprawled out on her bed. Lightning flashes, illuminating her room for seconds at a time. Thunder follows shortly behind, roaring over the background noise of cars and rain.

Her mind races, playing back the events that happened throughout her day. School wasn't bad. No one really bothered her, probably because she either kept to herself, or joined up with Yugi and the gang.  _And Kaiba… well, he could really use some help getting the stick out of his ass_ , she laughs to herself. Absently, she starts to rub an ache in her wrist where her scarab bracelet had been throughout the day.

"I wonder why that would react in such strange ways… All I can guess is that it's not an ordinary artifact," she whispers to herself. She rolls over, grateful that she put it away, and mumbles, "Maybe it's cursed."

She closes her eyes and she can see the lightning flash through her eyelids, leaving an image behind. Her breath catches in her throat. His face, a face of utter amusement, flickers in her mind's eye. The sound of laughter filled with hate and satisfaction rings in her ears. She clenches her eyes, as if she can make the image go away. She pulls the covers over her head, squeezing so tightly, her knuckles turn white. She tries to think about something else, but something keeps luring her back to him.

Michelle relaxes, trying to think rationally.  _That's not Bakura_ , she reminds herself.  _Maybe… Just like Yugi… There's another spirit?_ Throwing herself onto her back, she groans, "God, I sound like someone who needs to be in a straight jacket… I mean, it's not like I don't believe in supernatural occurrences, but to actually witness it? Did I hit the jackpot or something? Hah!" The girl chuckles to herself, closing her eyes once more.

Her medication finally kicks in, relaxing her body, making it feel heavy. This time, instead of seeing brown eyes corrupted with hate as they mock her, sad chocolate orbs beg her for forgiveness as she drifts into a dark, dreamless sleep.


End file.
